subject
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology 1
From Middle English subget, from Old French suget, from Latin subiectus (“lying under or near, adjacent, also subject, exposed”), as a noun, subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subiciō (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”), as a calque of Ancient Greek ὑποκείμενον (hupokeímenon).
Pronunciation
Adjective
subject (comparative more subject, superlative most subject)
- Likely to be affected by or to experience something.
- a country subject to extreme heat
- Menu listings and prices are subject to change.
- He's subject to sneezing fits.
- 1709, J[ohn] Dryden, J[ohn] Oldham, “(please specify the page)”, in Mac Flecknoe: A Poem. […] With Spencer’s Ghost: Being a Satyr Concerning Poetry. […], London: […] H[enry] Hills, […], →OCLC:
- All human things are subject to decay.
- 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
- The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them […] is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies. […] current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate […] “stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled.
- Conditional upon something; used with to.
- The local board sets local policy, subject to approval from the State Board.
- Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- Long he them bore above the subject plain
- Placed under the power of another; owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state.
- 1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC:, Book I
- Esau was never subject to Jacob.
Derived terms
Translations
likely to be affected by something
|
conditional upon
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placed under the power of another
|
Etymology 2
From Latin subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subiciō (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”).
Pronunciation
Noun
subject (plural subjects)
- (grammar) The noun, pronoun or noun phrase about whom the statement is made. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject is the actor. In clauses in the passive voice the subject is the target of the action.
- By faulty generalisation from a clause's subject being coinstantiated with one: an actor or agent; one who takes action. The following example would mean that the subject subjects its subjects to its rule:
- The subjects and objects of power.
- The main topic of a paper, work of art, discussion, field of study, etc.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- this subject for heroic song
- 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC:
- Make choice of a subject beautifull and noble, which […] shall […] afford […] an ample field of matter wherein to expatiate itself.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
- I am th' unhappy subject of these quarrels. All these quarrels are about me.
- 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Hocussing of Cigarette”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
- Then I had a good think on the subject of the hocussing of Cigarette, and I was reluctantly bound to admit that once again the man in the corner had found the only possible solution to the mystery.
- 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
- The departure was not unduly prolonged. […] Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments on the subject of Divine Intention in the disposition of buckets; farewells and last commiserations; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.
- A particular area of study.
- Her favorite subject is physics.
- 2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891:
- One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. […] But out of sight is out of mind. And that, together with the inherent yuckiness of the subject, means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair.
- A citizen in a monarchy.
- I am a British subject.
- 1996, S. C. M. Paine, Imperial Rivals: China, Russia, and Their Disputed Frontier, M. E. Sharpe, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 89:
- Ignat'ev refused to concede these points, but offered other concessions instead: Russia would not demand a consulate in Ch'i-ch'i-ha-erh or Chang-chia-k'ou (Kalgan); it would permit Chinese subjects to continue living along the Ussuri river as Chinese subjects; and it would limit to 200 the number of Russian traders in Peking.
- A person ruled over by another, especially a monarch or state authority.
- 2020, Alan Mikhail, God's Shadow, →ISBN, page 93:
- […] the Grand Khan seemed to grasp the "truth" of the religion and might become a convert, thereby gaining for Christianity the souls of all his subjects.
- (music) The main theme or melody, especially in a fugue.
- 1878, William Smith Rockstro, “Subject”, in A Dictionary of Music and Musicians:
- The earliest known form of subject is the ecclesiastical cantus firmus, or plain song.
- A human, animal or an inanimate object that is being examined, treated, analysed, etc.
- 1748, Conyers Middleton, Life of Cicero:
- Writers of particular lives […] are apt to be prejudiced in favour of their subject.
- 2010, Ursula James, Clinical Hypnosis Textbook: A Guide for Practical Intervention, page 73:
- It is also essential for those who come to the subject 'fresh' to gain the insight that will bridge their knowledge from being a subject of hypnosis to a potential practitioner.
- 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:
- Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field.
- (philosophy) A being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness, or a relationship with another entity.
- (logic) That of which something is stated.
- (mathematics) The variable in terms of which an expression is defined.
- Making x the subject of x2 − 6x + 3y = 0, we have x = 3 ± √(9 − 3y).
Synonyms
Derived terms
- between-subjects
- change the subject
- dummy subject
- echo subject
- federal subject
- historical subject
- impersonal subject
- introductory subject
- minor subject
- null-subject language
- oblique subject
- postsubject
- preparatory subject
- presubject
- quirky subject
- short subject
- subject case
- subject clause
- subject complement
- subject-control
- subject heading
- subject indexing
- subjective
- subject matter
- subject-matter
- subject matter jurisdiction
- subject of labor
- subject-oriented
- subject pronoun
- subject title
- tool subject
- within-subjects
Translations
in grammar
|
actor
main topic
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particular area of study
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citizen in a monarchy
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person ruled over by another, especially a monarch or state authority
|
music: main theme
human, animal or an inanimate object that is being examined
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philosophy: being
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also
Etymology 3
From Medieval Latin subiectō, iterative of subiciō (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”).
Pronunciation
Verb
subject (third-person singular simple present subjects, present participle subjecting, simple past and past participle subjected)
- (transitive, construed with to) To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted.
- I came here to buy souvenirs, not to be subjected to a tirade of abuse!
- (transitive) To make subordinate or subservient; to subdue or enslave.
Synonyms
Translations
to cause to undergo
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to make subordinate
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Further reading
- “subject”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “subject”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “subject”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Etymology
Chiefly a borrowing from Latin subiectum. Earlier Middle Dutch subject was masculine.
Pronunciation
Noun
subject n (plural subjecten, diminutive subjectje n)
- subject (theme or topic)
- Synonym: onderwerp
- (grammar) subject
- Synonym: onderwerp
- (philosophy) subject, ego
- someone or something that is the topic of a treatment or analysis
Derived terms
Related terms
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