| 释义 |
▪ I. subject, n.|ˈsʌbdʒɪkt|
Forms: α. 4–5 sogett(e, sugett(e, 4–6 soget, sug(g)et, 4 pl. sugges, 5 sogete, sugete, seget (?), sewgyet, soiet, suiet, sogect, sugect. β. 4 subgit, soubgit, 4–5 subgett(e, 4–6 subiet, 5 subgyt, -gite, soubget, pl. subies, -jais, -gees, 5–6 subget, -giet. γ. 4–7 subiect, 5 -giect, 5–6 -iecte, 6 -gect, -yect, -iectt, subect, Sc. pl. subjeckis, 7– subject.
[a. OF. suget, soget (12th c.), sougiet, subjit, subg(i)et, etc. (13th c.), subject (15–17th c.), also soubject, suject, mod.F. sujet (from 15th c.), repr. various stages of adoption of L. subject-us masc., subject-um neut., subst. uses of pa. pple. of subicĕre (see next). Cf. Prov. subjet-z, suget-z, It. soggetto, suggetto, and sub(b)ietto, Sp. sugeto, Pg. sujeito. The completely latinized spelling of the Eng. word became established in the 16th c.]
I.
1. a. One who is under the dominion of a monarch or reigning prince; one who owes allegiance to a government or ruling power, is subject to its laws, and enjoys its protection.
α1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 5578 Þa þat sugettes war til man, Sal accuse þair soveraynes þan. c1394P. Pl. Crede 650 Neþer souereyn ne soget þei ne suffreþ neuer. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. vi. 315 Thei were sugettis to the Emperour of Rome. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 500, I wol a-wye sovereyns; and soiettes I dys-deyne. 1574in Maitl. Club Misc. I. 111 Ane trew sugget to the Kingis Majestie.
β1399Gower In Praise of Peace 165 Crist is the heved and we ben membres alle, Als wel the subgit as the sovereign. c1400tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 51 Kynges..large to subgitz. 1503Hawes Examp. Virt. i. 14 Be to thy kynge euer true subgete.
γ1538Starkey England i. iii. 82 The commyns agayne the nobullys, and subyectys agayn they[r] rularys. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 86 A quiet subiect to his Prince. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. ix. 6 Was neuer Subiect long'd to be a King, As I do long and wish to be a Subiect. a1633G. Herbert Jacula Prudentum (1651) 62 For the same man to be an heretick and a good subject, is incompossible. 1649[see liberty n.1 2]. a1687Petty Pol. Arith. (1690) 75, I suppose that the King of England hath about Ten Millions of Subjects. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. 122 Every wanton and causeless restraint of the will of the subject..is a degree of tyranny. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 308 These three Dukes were supposed to be three of the very richest subjects in England. 1858Froude Hist. Eng. IV. xviii. 48 She had taught her son to suspect and dread the worthiest subject that he possessed.
(b) qualified by a possessive or equivalent phrase; also subject of the crown.
αc1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 28 Her regalte and her dignyte, by þe whiche þei schulen..rulen hemsilf and her sogetis. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2212 Kynges of hir sogetz ben obeyed. 1483Cely Papers (Camden) 137 To wryte unto the Kynges good grace that he wyll be faverabull unto hys sewgyettes. 1515in Douglas' Poet. Wks. (1874) I. p. xxvii, The best belowyt prince and moost dred with lowff of his Lorddis and sugettis.
βc1374Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. viii. (1868) 80 Yif þou desiryst power þou shalt by awaites of þi subgitz anoyously be cast vndir many periles. a1400Morte Arth. 2314 Twa senatours we are, thi subgettez of Rome. 1415in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 48, I Richard York ȝowre humble subgyt and very lege man. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 297 Alsmony princis with thair subjais. 1483Act 1 Rich. III, c. 1 §1 The King's Subgiettis. 1524in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 220 Our officers, ministres, and subgiettes.
γc1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 41 He commaunded straitely til all his subiectes, þat þai schuld late me see all þe placez. c1525More Hist. Rich. III, Wks. 69/1 She said also yt it was not princely to mary hys owne subiect. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 283 b, The other William Gelluse was a subject of the Lantgraves. 1595Shakes. John ii. i. 204 Iohn. You men of Angiers, and my louing subiects. Fra. You louing men of Angiers, Arthurs subiects. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 14 Our Prince will put no yoke upon the consciences of his Subjects. 1733Swift (title) A serious and useful Scheme to make an Hospital for Incurables; of universal Benefit to all his Majesty's Subjects. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. 263 The king has..the prerogative of..granting place or precedence to any of his subjects. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1842) II. 505 No subjects of the crown in Ireland enjoyed such influence, at this time, as the earls of Kildare. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 504 The..kings of our own day very much resemble their subjects in education and breeding.
(c) of a specified country or state; also, subject of the realm.
α1436in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. IV. 199 To Us and to alle oure sugectis of the same [reame].
γa1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 16 To bring all the subjecttis of this realme to peace and rest. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 52 There was not any one Subject of the Republick who was a Knight of Malta. 1713Steele Englishm. No. 3. 15 When I say an Englishman, I mean every true Subject of Her Majesty's Realms. 1747State Trials (1813) XVIII. 859 By naturalizing or employing a subject of Great Britain. 1912Times 19 Oct. 5/1 Subjects of the Slav States throughout the Ottoman Empire.
(d) with adj. of nationality.
1810Bentham Packing (1821) 253 Though a very obscure and insignificant person, I have the honour to be a British subject. 1886Froude Oceana 98 Their Monro doctrine, prohibiting European nations from settling on their side of the Atlantic, except as American subjects.
†b. collect. sing. The subjects of a realm. ? Also transf. in quot. 1608. (Only Shakes.) Obs.
1602Shakes. Ham. i. ii. 33 In that the Leuies..are all made Out of his subiect. 1603― Meas. for M. iii. ii. 145 The greater file of the subiect held the Duke to be wise. 1608― Per. ii. i. 53 How from the finny subject of the sea These fishers tell the infirmities of men.
†2.
a. One who is bound to a superior by an obligation to pay allegiance, service, or tribute; spec. a feudal inferior or tenant; a vassal, retainer; a dependant, subordinate; an inferior. Obs.
αc1315Shoreham Poems iv. 276 Ho hys þat neuer ne kedde woȝ In boste to hys sugges? c1383in Engl. Hist. Rev. (1911) Oct. 748 Seculer lordis owen..to treete reesonabli & charitabli here tenauntis & sogetis. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 546/368 Haue mesure to þi soget. a1400–50Wars Alex. 2682 As soiet serued haue I þat sire many sere wyntir. c1450Merlin i. 6 Youre suster is elder than ye, and so she wolde alwey holde yow as her sogect.
βc1386Chaucer Sompn. T. 282 With-Inne thyn hous ne be thou no leoun, To thy subgitz do noon oppressioun. 1420in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 68 Hys heires, vassalles, and subgees. a1475Ashby Active Policy 898 Saint petur saithe þat soubgettes shold be Buxom to thar lorde. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 25 Thou knowest well that thou arte his man, vaysall, and subgette. a1533Ld. Berners Huon xlii. 142 Thou to be my subgett, and to pay me trybute.
γc1430Lydg. Min. Poems (MS. Harl. 2251 fol. 5 b), Ayenst thy felawe no quarele thow contryve: With thy subiect to stryve it were shame. c1450Godstow Reg. 1 Alle lordes þat..forbedith her subiectes þat ben acursed to go out of þe church. 1530Palsgr. 278/1 Subjecte or holder of house or lande, uassal. c1530Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 60 Selle no parte of thyne heritage vnto thy bettyr, but for lesse pryce selle yt to thy subiecte. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. ii. 39 To Bullingbrooke, are we sworne Subiects now. 1681[see subfeu]. [ 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v., Anciently, the Lords call'd, abusively, those who held Lands or Fees of them, or ow'd them any Homage, Subjects.]
†b. One who owes allegiance or obedience to a spiritual superior. Obs.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 355 Þat ȝif he [sc. the pope] hadde siche power, he shulde assoile alle hise sugetis fro peyne and fro trespas. 1425Rolls of Parlt. IV. 306/1 Ye said Lordes Spirituell hath promitted..to calle yere subgettes to residence. c1450J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert vii, He chase on of his subiectis whom he knewe be þe Holy Goost þat he schuld succede in his office aftir his deth. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 3360 Her systers, and subiettes, a religious couent. 1552Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 3 Al baith prelates & subjeckis.
†c. One who is under the spiritual oversight or charge of a parish priest; one of a ‘curate's’ parishioners. Obs.
c1340Hampole Prose Treat. 24 Vnto thes men itt longith..to vsene werkis of mercy..in helpe and sustinaunce of hem silfe and of hir sugettis. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 73 Sugetis taken ensaumple at here curatis. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. xii. 219 A curat mai not..alwey rynge at the eeris of hise suggettis. c1450Lay Folks Mass Bk. 68 God gyf þame grace so well for to teche þare sugettis ilke curet in his degre. [1509Ibid. 75.]
3. a. A person (rarely, a thing) that is in the control or under the dominion of another; one who owes obedience to another.
α13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 458 Kes me, leman, and loue me, And I thi soget wil i-be. a1340Hampole Psalter ii. 10 Þai ere þe sugetis til þe deuel. c1430Hymns Virgin (1867) 63 Make him þi suget, to þee to swere Þat he schal not discure þi name. c1440York Myst. iv. 16 All other creatours also there-tyll Your suggettes shall they bee. c1450Mirk's Festial 25 And soo schowe hym seruant and soget to hym, and knewlech þys schyld [= child] for hys God.
βc1374Chaucer Troylus ii. 828 O loue to whom I haue and shal Ben humble subgit.
γc1440Jacob's Well xxxiii. 214 Resoun sufferyth his wyif, þat is, his subiecte coueytise, to spedyn in causes of falsnesse in ryche men. 1588Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 254 By Nature woman was made mans subiect. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 19 The beasts, the fishes, and the winged fowles Are their males subiects. 1671Milton Samson 886 Nor was I their subject, Nor under their protection but my own. 1812Crabbe Tales v. 201 Beauties are tyrants, and if they can reign, They have no feeling for their subject's pain. 1865R. W. Dale Jew. Temple xxiv. 270 Every member of the human race is a subject of the Lord Jesus.
b. transf.
c1520Nisbet N.T. Prol. (S.T.S.) I. 3 Thai were all in bondage and sugettis of syn. 1625Bacon Ess., Anger (Arb.) 565 Anger is certainly a kinde of Basenesse: As it appeares well, in the Weaknesse of those Subiects, in whom it reignes. a1721Prior Vicar of Bray & Sir T. Moor Wks. 1907 II. 248 My knowledge in Divine and Human Law gave me to understand I was born a Subject to both. 1818Brathwait's Barnabee's Jrnl. Introd. 67 It is of the essence of fashion to descend in the subjects of its dominion.
4. Law.
a. A thing over which a right is exercised.
1765–8Erskine Inst. Laws Scot. ii. x. §32. 351 As orchards produce no fruits that are the subjects either of parsonage or vicarage tithes. 1875Digby Real Prop. i. App. (1876) 266 By the subject of a right is meant the thing..over which the right is exercised. My house, horse, or watch is the subject of my right of property. 1875[see suable].
b. Sc. A piece of property.
1754Erskine Princ. Sc. Law ii. i. §1 (1757) I. 105 The things or subjects to which persons have right, are the second object of law. The right of enjoying and disposing of a subject at one's pleasure is called property. Ibid. iii. viii. §32 II. 376 Full inventory of all his predecessor's heritable subjects. 1819J. Marshall Const. Opin. (1839) 154 The distinction between property and other subjects to which the power of taxation is applicable. 1864N. Brit. Advertiser 21 May, Subjects in Nelson and Kent Streets to be exposed to sale by public roup. 1903Dundee Advertiser 22 Dec. 5 Those holding ‘subjects’ of that kind.
c. Considered as the object of an agreement.
1838W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 581 Where the subject of the lease is rendered unfit for the purposes for which it was let, overblown with sand, inundated [etc.].
II. Senses derived ultimately (through L. subjectum) from Aristotle's use of τὸ ὑποκείµενον in the threefold sense of (1) material out of which things are made, (2) subject of attributes, (3) subject of predicates.
†5. The substance of which a thing consists or from which it is made. Obs.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. v. pr. i. (1868) 150 Þei casten as a manere of foundement of subgit material [de materiali subjecto] þat is to seyn of the nature of alle resoun. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. xxi. (1495) 68 Yf the wytt of gropyng is all loste the subget of alle the beest [orig. subjectum totius animalis] is destroyed. 1590Marlowe 2nd Pt. Tamburl. v. iii. [4557, 4561] Amy... Your soul giues essence to our wretched subiects, Whose matter is incorporoat [sic] in your flesh... Tam. But sons, this subiect not of force enough, To hold the fiery spirit it containes. 1651French Distill. v. 109 Thus do these attractive vertues mutually act upon each others subject. 1669Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 9 That Universal Subject, or Spiritus Mundi, out of which they are formed. 1775Harris Philos. Arrangem. Wks. (1841) 267 Every thing generated or made..is generated or made out of something else; and this something else is called its subject or matter.
6. Philos. The substance in which accidents or attributes inhere. subject of inhesion or † inherence: see these ns.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 19 Ȝif þei seyn, written and techen openly þat þe sacrament of þe auter þat men seen bitwen þe prestis hondis is accidentis wiþ-outen suget. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxvi. (1495) 920 As whan tweyne accidentes ben in one substaunce and subiecte: as colour and sauour. c1400in Apol. Loll. (Camden) p. vii, That the sacrid oost is..accident withouten ony subiect. 1551T. Wilson Logic C ij, Wee se heate in other thynges to be separated from the Subiecte. 1609Bible (Douay) Gen. i. 16 comm., Ancient Doctors judged it possible, that accidents may remaine without their subject. 1614Selden Titles Hon. 126 It hath been questioned, which is the more both elegant and honorable..whether to say Serenissime Princeps à te peto, or A Serenitate Vestrâ peto. And some haue thought the first forme the best, because in that the Accidents and Subiects are together exprest. 1616Bullokar Eng. Exp. s.v., The body is the subiect in which is health, or sickenesse, and the minde the subiect that receiueth into it vertues or vices. 1678Gale Crt. Gentiles iv. iii. 5 Albeit sin be..a mere privation, yet it requires some positive, real natural Being for its subject. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v., Two Contraries can never subsist in the same Subject. 1762Kames Elem. Crit. (1833) 487 The same thing, in different respects, has different names; with respect to qualities of all sorts, it is termed a subject. 1836–7Sir W. Hamilton Metaph. viii. (1859) I. 137 That which manifests its qualities,—in other words, that in which the appearing causes inhere, that to which they belong, is called their subject, or substance, or substratum. Ibid. ix. 158 The general meaning of the word subject in its philosophical application,—viz. the unknown basis of phænomenal or manifested existence. 1858Whewell Hist. Sci. Ideas I. 35 The mind is the subject in which ideas inhere.
†b. A thing having real independent existence.
1603Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 458 Thoughts are no subiects; Intents, but meerely thoughts.
7. Logic.
a. That which has attributes; the thing about which a judgement is made.
1551T. Wilson Logic M ij b, As touchyng wordes knitte, ye maie vnderstand, that they are ioyned outwardly to the Subiect, and geue a name vnto him, according as they are. 1697tr. Burgersdicius his Logic i. xix. 72 A Subject is that to which something is adjoyn'd besides its Essence. And an Adjunct that which is adjoyn'd to something besides its Essence. 1838[F. Haywood] tr. Kant's Crit. Pure Reason Introd. iv. 10 Extending judgments..add a predicate to the conception of the subject. 1843Mill Logic i. ii. §5 By a subject is here meant any thing which possesses attributes. 1864Bowen Logic i. 5 The Concept..brings together many objects into one Thought or many attributes into one subject. 1883F. H. Bradley Princ. Logic 14 We shall see that the subject is in the end no idea but always reality.
b. The term or part of a proposition of which the predicate is affirmed or denied.
Earlier treatises on logic use the L. subjectum.
1620T. Granger Div. Logike 178 The proposition hath two parts, the Subiect, and Predicate. 1697tr. Burgersdicius his Logic i. xxvii. 109 Simple enunciation consisteth of a subject and a predicate. 1796Nitsch's View Kant's Princ. 128 Collections of properties, which in a judgment are made the predicates of a subject. 1843Mill Logic i. i. §2 The subject is the name denoting the person or thing which something is affirmed or denied of. 1870Jevons Elem. Logic vii. 62 It is..usual to call the first term of a proposition the subject, since it denotes the underlying matter.
8. Gram. The member or part of a sentence denoting that concerning which something is predicated (i.e. of which a statement is made, a question asked, or a desire expressed); a word or group of words setting forth that which is spoken about and constituting the ‘nominative’ to a finite verb.
In the accus. and infin. construction the accus. is the subject of the infin.
a1638[see predicate n. 2]. 1733J. Clarke Gram. Lat. Tongue 68 note, The Nominative Case to a Verb..is called by Grammarians the Subject of the Verb. 1751J. H[arris] Hermes ii. i. 230 In English these are distinguished by their Position, the Subject standing first, the Predicate last. 1874Bain Comp. Higher Eng. Gram. (1877) p. xxiii, Infinitive (logical subject) anticipated by ‘it’, ‘this’, &c. (formal subject) comes after the predicate. Ibid. 299 Cases where the grammatical subject is a neuter pronoun—‘it’, ‘this’—standing as a provisional anticipation of the real subject or fact predicated about. 1888Strong tr. Paul's Princ. Hist. Lang. 112 We have to distinguish between the psychological and the grammatical subject or predicate.
9. Mod. Philos. More fully conscious subject or thinking subject : The mind, as the ‘subject’ in which ideas inhere; that to which all mental representations or operations are attributed; the thinking or cognizing agent; the self or ego. (Correlative to object n. 6.)
The tendency in modern philosophy after Descartes to make the mind's consciousness of itself the starting-point of enquiry led to the use of subjectum for the mind or ego considered as the subject of all knowledge, and since Kant this has become the general philosophical use of the word (with its derivatives subjective, etc.).
[The following quots. illustrate a transitional use:—
1682Rust Disc. Truth xviii, Thus have we spoken concerning the truth of things, or Truth in the Object: It follows that we speak concerning Truth in the power, or faculty, which we call Truth in the Subject. 1697Norris Acc. Reason & Faith i. (1724) 19, I consider..that the most general distribution of Reason is into that of the Object and that of the Subject; or, to word it more intelligibly, though perhaps not altogether so Scholastically, into that of the Thing, and that of the Understanding. ]
1796Nitsch's View Kant's Princ. 72 In every knowledge, perception, &c., there is something which refers to an object, and something which refers to the knowing or perceiving subject. 1817Coleridge Biog. Lit. xii. (1907) I. 184 A spirit is..an absolute subject for which all, itself included, may become an object. 1829Edin. Rev. L. 196 note, The thinking subject, the Ego. 1838[F. Haywood] tr. Kant's Crit. Pure Reason 293 The thinking subject is the object of Psychology. 1851Mansel Proleg. Log. i. 7 Every state of consciousness necessarily implies two elements at least; a conscious subject, and an object of which he is conscious. 1886Encycl. Brit. XX. 39/1 The conception of a mind or conscious subject is to be found implicitly or explicitly in all psychological writers whatever.
III. 10. The subject-matter of an art or science.
1541Copland Guydon's Quest. Cyrurg. B iij, Euery worke⁓man is bounde to knowe the subiect of his worke in whiche he worketh. 1563Fulke Meteors 1 Whether we maye borowe y⊇ name of meteoron to comprehende the whole subiect of oure woorke. 1656tr. Hobbes' Elem. Philos. i. i. 7 The Subject of Philosophy, or the matter it treats of, is every Body of which we can conceive any generation. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v., The Subject of Logic, is Thinking or Reasoning. Ibid., Subject is also used for the Matter of an Art or Science..: Thus the human Body is the Subject of Medicine. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 4 All sciences have a subject, number is the subject of arithmetic. 1888Strong tr. Paul's Princ. Hist. Lang. 1 marg., Subject of the Science of Language.
11. a. A thing affording matter for action of a specified kind; a ground, motive, or cause.
In some quots. a Gallicism.
1586Let. to Earle of Leycester 6 The very ground and onely subject, whereupon such daungerous practises and complots had been founded. 1651tr. De-las-Coveras' Don Fenise 115 Fenise asked him what subject he had to attempt against his life. 1652Loveday tr. Calprenede's Cassandra i. 15, I have my selfe as much or more subject to hate life than you. 1655tr. Sorel's Com. Hist. Francion x. 10, I have subject enough to be angry with you. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitland Club) 129 That had anybody been inclined to laugh, they might have had a good subject. 1831Scott Cast. Dang. ix, Which had never given the English government the least subject of complaint. 1843Penny Cycl. XXVII. 512/1 In such circumstances subjects of accusation are not long wanting. 1893Oman Dark Ages xx, We might perhaps have learnt that Charles also gave subjects for offence.
b. Const. for.
1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 3 What, haue scap'd Loue⁓letters in the holly-day-time of my beauty, and am I now a subiect for them? 1616Marlowe's Faustus Wks. (1910) 222 Let them come in, They are good subiect for a merriment. 1780Mirror No. 83 The great subject for wit and ludicrous representation arises from men's having a thorough knowledge of what is the fashionable standard of manners. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague iii. iv, I am no subject for your mirth.
c. That which can be drawn upon or utilized, means of doing something. rare.
1752Hume Ess. & Treat. (1817) I. 265 Where they [sc. indulgences]..entrench upon no virtue, but leave ample subject whence to provide for friends, family, [etc.].
12. a. That which is or may be acted or operated upon; a person or thing towards which action or influence is directed, or that is the recipient of some treatment.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 212 Alacke, alacke, that heauen should practise stratagems Vpon so soft a subiect as my selfe. 1606― Tr. & Cr. ii. ii. 160 There's..none so Noble, Whose life were ill bestow'd, or death vnfam'd, Where Helen is the subiect. 1611Tourneur Ath. Trag. v. i, Nor could the first Man, being but the passiue Subiect not The Actiue Mouer, be the Maker of Himselfe. 1753J. Collier Art Torment. i. i. (1811) 37 All the pleasure of tormenting is lost, as soon as your subject is become insensible to your strokes. 1764Reid Inquiry i. §1 In the noblest arts, the mind is also the subject upon which we operate. 1777Priestley Matter & Sp. (1782) I. Pref. 33 Power cannot mean anything without a subject. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xx, She approached her new subject very much as a person might be supposed to approach a black spider. 1898Mortimer Cath. Faith & Practice I. 140 The subject of Baptism is any human being, whether an adult or an infant.
b. Const. of a specified action or activity.
1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. vi. 49 To be Shames scorne, and subiect of Mischance. 1605― Macb. iii. iii. 8 And neere approches The subiect of our Watch. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 117 [The Turks] haue made this Citie, a subiect of their bloudy cruelty. 1696Whiston Th. Earth 87 Not the vast Universe, but the Earth alone, with its dependencies, are the proper subject of the Six Days Creation. 1711Steele Spect. No. 53 ⁋2 The Triumph of Daphne over her Sister Letitia has been the Subject of Conversation at Several Tea-Tables. 1796E. Hamilton Lett. Hindoo Rajah (1811) I. 204 The many subjects of wonder with which a stranger is surrounded. 1823Scott Quentin D. xix, The huge wains, which transported to and fro the subjects of export and import. 1831― Cast. Dang. vi, The most bold and fierce subjects of chase in the island of Britain. 1847Helps Friends in C. i. v. 73 Proficiency in any one subject of human endeavour. 1855Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii. §45. 537, I may here refer to what is a common subject of remark. 1883Gilmour Mongols xvii. 207 Such..difficulties..are welcomed rather as subjects of debate than felt to be barriers to the acceptance of Christianity.
†c. One who or a thing which is subject to something injurious. Obs.
1592Marlowe Mass. Paris 222 [They will] rather seeke to scourge their enemies, Than be themselues base subiects to the whip. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. iii. 61 Who..leaues his part-created Cost [viz. a half-built house] A naked subiect to the Weeping Clouds.
d. An object with which a person's occupation or business is concerned or on which he exercises his craft; † (one's) business; that which is operated upon manually or mechanically.
[1541Copland Guydon's Quest. Cyrurg. B iij, Yf it so be that the subiecte of the Cyrurgyen be the body of men⁓kynde.] 1766W. Gordon Gen. Counting-ho. 102 Waste⁓book, containing an Inventory of my Subject. 1828H. Steuart Planter's Guide (ed. 2) 267 The above Machine..is capable of removing subjects of from eighteen to about eight-and-twenty feet high. 1837Keith Bot. Lex. 22 The bark... In young subjects it is of a flexible and leathery texture. 1887Pall Mall Gaz. 6 July 2/2 You must consider the capital we have to sink in our ‘subjects’ [sc. of a menagerie] when you calculate our expenses.
e. A body used for anatomical examination or demonstration; a dead body intended for or undergoing dissection.
1710Phil. Trans. XXVII. 71 In our Subject the Hairs are every where pretty long. 1729Ibid. XXXVI. 167 This Subject..had her Lungs full of small Tubercles. 1775True Patriot IX. 330 The gentleman of the house [a surgeon] declared he had a very good subject above in the garret. 1829Scott Jrnl. II. 219 The total and severe exclusion of foreign supplies raises the price of the ‘subjects’. 1870H. Lonsdale Robt. Knox 54 The supply of ‘subjects’ was so inadequate, that the surgeons' apprentices..determined upon the..step of procuring them from the graveyards.
f. A person who presents himself for or undergoes medical or surgical treatment; hence, one who is affected with some disease.
a good (bad) subject: a patient who has (has not) good prospects of improvement or recovery.
1822–34Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) III. 485 The subject was forty-five years of age, and had evinced a slight rhachitic tendency from infancy. 1849Cupples Green Hand xv, I asked if there wasn't any chance [of the captain's recovery]. ‘Oh, the captain, you mean?’ said he, ‘don't think there is—he's a bad subject!’ 1859Todd's Cycl. Anat. V. 178/2 Two of the subjects died after severe instrumental labour. 1898H. Brown Secret Gd. Health 91 Smoking helps the subject to rest. 1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 276 A broad line of dilated venules is often seen in emphysematous subjects. 1905Rolleston Dis. Liver 260 Patients with cirrhosis are..far from good subjects.
g. Psychical Research. A person upon whom an experiment is made.
1883Proc. Soc. Psych. Research 18 July 251 A specific influence or effluence, passing from the operator to the ‘subject’. 1886Gurney, etc. Phantasms of Living I. 16 The ‘subject's’ hand seemed to obey the other person's will with almost the same directness as that person's own hand would have done.
h. A person under the influence of religious enthusiasm. rare.
1820Southey Wesley I. 417 Subjects began to cry out, and sink down in the meeting.
i. With epithet: A person in respect of his conduct or character. rare.
Cf. F. mauvais sujet.
1848Dickens Dombey xxxix, Unable..to satisfy his mind whether Mr. Toots was the mild subject he appeared to be.
13. a. In a specialized sense: That which forms or is chosen as the matter of thought, consideration, or inquiry; a topic, theme.
the human subject: man, regarded as a matter for study or observation.
1586B. Young Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iv. 208 Now that Lorde Hercules hathe geuen occasion to talke of this subiecte. 1667Decay Chr. Piety 346 Here he would have us..fix our thoughts and studies: Nor need we fear that they are too dry a subject for our contemplation. a1700Evelyn Diary 13 June 1683, We shew'd him divers experiments on the magnet, on which subject the Society were upon. 1729Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 51 Justice must be done to every part of a subject when we are considering it. 1780Mirror No. 89 As for politics, it was a subject far beyond the reach of any female capacity. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxviii, ‘Alas! I know it too well,’ replied Emily: ‘spare me on this terrible subject.’ 1828Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) II. xi. 247 History never will sell so well as more familiar and smaller subjects. 1837Disraeli Venetia ii. i, Her father had become a forbidden subject. 1872Morley Voltaire (1886) 9/9 He always paid religion respect enough to treat it as the most important of all subjects. 1874Carpenter Mental Phys. i. ii. (1879) 70 The phenomena presented by the Human subject. 1902V. Jacob Sheep-Stealers viii, The Pig-driver seated himself beside him and plunged immediately into his subject.
b. With appositional phr. formed with of and expressing the nature of the subject.
1724Swift Drapier's Lett. Wks. 1841 II. 34/1 In examining what I have already written..upon the subject of Mr. Wood. 1733Pres. St. Popery 21 The late exceptions of a certain Lincolnshire minister on the subject of infallibility. 1765Museum Rust. IV. 294 The subject of grasses is very nice. 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxviii, After quoting Delrio, and Burthoog, and De L'Ancre, on the subject of apparitions. 1839F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia (1863) 35 The indifference of our former manager upon the subject of the accommodation for the sick.
c. on one's subject (= F. sur son sujet): concerning one. (A Gallicism.)
1747Chesterfield Lett. cxviii, Two letters, which I have lately seen from Lausanne, upon your subject. 1775W. Mason Life of Gray (ed. 2) 3 To make it necessary I should enlarge upon his subject.
d. An object of study in relation to its use for pedagogic or examining purposes; a particular department of art or science in which one is instructed or examined.
1843Penny Cycl. XXVI. 29/1 An examination for honours in each subject is held subsequently. 1887Whitaker's Alm. 540 If an officer only pass in the subjects necessary for a subaltern. 1913Rep. 7th Ann. Mtg. Hist. Assoc. 8 Every man who teaches a subject well and with real enthusiasm.
14. a. The theme of a literary composition; what a book, poem, etc. is about.
a1586Sidney Ps. civ. i, Make, O my soule, the subject of thy songe, Th'eternall Lord. 1596Warner Alb. Eng. x. lx. (1602) 266 Though stately be the subiect, and too slender be our Arte. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 72, I did not think to have gone so far; it is the subject that hath carried me away. c1645Milton Sonn. xi, A Book was writ of late call'd Tetrachordon;..The Subject new. 1667― P.L. ix. 25 Since first this Subject for Heroic Song Pleas'd me long choosing. 1780Mirror No. 85 A poem may be possessed of very considerable merit,..though, from its subject, its length, or the manner in which it is written, it may not be suited to the Mirror. 1835T. Mitchell Acharn. Aristoph. 365 note, All of them subjects dramatized by Euripides. 1844Whewell Let. to J. G. Marshall 29 Jan., The subject of my lectures is the difficulties of constructing a system of morals. 1903A. B. Davidson Old Test. Prophecy ix. 136 The developments of heathenism form the subject of Daniel.
b. The person of whom a biography is written.
1741Middleton Cicero I. Pref. p. xv, They [sc. writers of particular lives] are apt to be partial and prejudiced in favor of their subject. 1791Boswell Johnson Adv. 1st ed., The delay of its publication must be imputed..to the extraordinary zeal which has been shewn..to supply me with additional information concerning its illustrious subject. 1885Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Feb. 5/2 We think we like the book best because of the view it gives of the subject's character.
15. a. An object, a figure or group of figures, a scene, an incident, etc., chosen by an artist for representation.
1614in Archaeologia XLII. 360 Another..picture of the same subject. 1695Dryden tr. Dufresnoy's Art Paint. 11 The next thing is to make choice of a Subject beautifull and noble. c1790J. Imison Sch. Arts II. 55 The subject to be painted should be situated in such a manner that the light may fall with every advantage on the face. 1859Reeve Brittany 13, I was looking round the little knot of soldiers for a subject. 1872Ruskin Eagle's Nest §163 You must always draw for the sake of your subject—never for the sake of your picture. 1893J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. 112 If the subject is so shaky as to render it impossible to take the portrait without its [sc. a headrest's] aid.
b. In decorative art, a representation of human figures or animals, an action or incident.
1828Duppa Trav. Italy, etc. 14 Ten compartments filled with subjects from the Old Testament. 1867Paris Exhib., Rep. Artisans Soc. Arts 27 A pair of vases painted all round with subjects after Watteau.
16. Mus. The theme or principal phrase of a composition or movement; in a fugue, the exposition, dux, or proposition; first subject (second subject) subject, the primary (or subsidiary) theme of a composition, esp. in sonata-form.
1752C. Avison Ess. Mus. Expression i. ii. 28 In the greater Kinds of musical Composition, there is a principal or leading Subject or Succession of Notes, which ought to prevail, and be heard throughout the whole Composition. 1753Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Sogetto, Contrapunto sopra il sogetto, a counterpoint above the subject, is that of which the subject is the bass. 1771C. Burney Present State Mus. in France & Italy 49 The first subject is judiciously returned to while it still vibrates on the ear. 1801Busby Dict. Mus., Subject, the theme or text of any movement. 1876Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms 411/1 In sonata form there should be two chief subjects, called first and second. 1883Rockstro in Grove's Dict. Mus. III. 747/2 The earliest known form of Subject is the Ecclesiastical Cantus firmus. 1883Grove Dict. Mus. III. 752/1 The Father of the Symphony [sc. Haydn] enriched his new Art-form with a Second Subject, so constructed as to enhance the beauty of the Primary Theme by the introduction of some form of expression distinctly opposed to it. 1898G. B. Shaw Perf. Wagnerite 3 In classical music there are, as the analytical programs tell us, first subjects and second subjects, free fantasias, recapitulations, and codas. 1955J. F. Russell in H. Van Thal Fanfare for Ernest Newman 148 It is difficult to remember a Mozart first subject, for example, in which the common chord is not melodically employed. 1977Gramophone June 90/2 Walton brilliantly exploits every conceivable kind of antiphony..the Worcester Cathedral choristers angelically distanced in the gentle second-subject at ‘The glorious company of the Apostles’.
†17. That upon which something stands; a base. Obs. rare—1.
1592R. D. Hypnerotomachia 12 The Pægma base or subiect for this metaline machine to stand vpon, was of one solyde peece of marble.
IV.
18. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 8) subject clause, subject complement, subject noun, (also 7 b) subject part, (also 13) subject-oriented adj.; (sense 13) subject-changer; (sense 14, chiefly with reference to cataloguing books according to their subjects) subject card, subject catalogue, subject cataloguing, subject entry, subject heading, subject index, subject list, subject reference; subject-monger, one who exploits his subjects; subject picture, a genre painting; subject-term Logic = sense 7 b.
1869C. A. Cutter in F. L. Miksa Charles Ammi Cutter (1977) ii. xxiv. 168 The *subject-cards would..be copied from these author-cards. 1982D. L. Foster Managing Catalog Department (ed. 2) iii. 72 The best way to divide the catalog..is to divide the subject cards from the others within each drawer.
1873M. Dewey in G. Dawe Melvil Dewey (1932) 323 By this plan any books may be found without a catalogue since the library is in itself a full classed *subject catalogue. 1889Wheatley How to Catal. Libr. 232 If he wants to find a manuscript upon a particular subject, he can look at the subject catalogue.
1900E. W. Hulme in Libr. Assoc. Rec. 5 Nov. 571 (heading) Principles of dictionary *subject-cataloguing in scientific and technical libraries.
1748Richardson Clarissa (1785) II. 160 But I asked him, If he had any news by his last letters from London: A question which he always understands to be a *subject-changer; for otherwise I never put it. 1978I. Murdoch Sea 164 ‘Been to Ireland lately?’ This always set Perry off and was a guaranteed subject-changer.
1957R. W. Zandvoort Handbk. Eng. Gram. iii. vi. 165 What..may introduce a *subject clause, an object clause,..a predicative clause, or a clause preceded by a preposition.
1939H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. (ed. 2) ii. 80 A certain number of adverbs may be used as *subject-complements, i.e. as complements to..verbs of incomplete predication.
1869C. A. Cutter in N. Amer. Rev. CVIII. 115 In the New Catalogue, on the contrary, the *subject entry is the fullest. 1899Quinn Libr. Catal. 71 The forms of subject entries in dictionary catalogues.
1874Catal. Libr. Mercantile Libr. Assoc. San Francisco p. vi, *Subject-headings, when there are two or more titles, are denoted by a separate line in the same [fount]. 1973M. Amis Rachel Papers 60, I indent subject⁓headings, co-ordinate footnotes, mark cross-references in red and blue biros.
1861Catal. N.-Y. State Libr.: Gen. Libr., 1st Suppl. p. xii, *Subject-Index.—In the Index following the catalogue, the subjects of the books are arranged alphabetically. 1879Rep. Index Soc. 3 Subject Indexes of Science, Literature, and Art.
1875C. A. Cutter in Nation 14 Oct. 252/1 ‘Analysis’—that is, reference under subjects to topics discussed in certain books incidentally but not at sufficient length to justify the insertion of the book in the *subject-list. 1902(title) Subject List of Works on General Science [etc.].
1630S. Lennard tr. Charron's Wisd. iii. iii. §12 (1670) 363 A Prince must carefully preserve himself..from resembling, by over-great and excessive imposition, those tyrants, *subject-mongers, Cannibals. 1844Disraeli Coningsby iii. iii, A cutting reply to Mr. Rigby's article with some searching mockery, that became the subject and the subject-monger.
1862E. Adams Elem. Eng. Lang. (1870) 158 When the *subject noun is accompanied by qualifying or explanatory words, it is said to be enlarged.
1964Language XL. 77 Middle voice embraces at least five subtypes: (1) *subject-oriented action, [etc.]. 1975Language for Life (Dept. Educ. & Sci.) xii. 189 The primary school teacher is likely to conceive of his task in terms of integrated rather than subject-oriented work.
1628T. Spencer Logick 21 The first substance, or *subiect part of every sentence. Ibid. 255 The antecedent, or subiect part of the conclusion.
1862Thornbury Turner I. 257 His first *subject picture was ‘Fishermen at Sea’, 1796.
1876Public Libr. in U.S.A. (U.S. Bureau Educ.) i. xxvii. 542 A dictionary catalogue (author- and anonymous-title entries with imprints,..*subject-references to the classed part). 1889Wheatley How to Catal. Libr. 180 It is something appalling to conjecture what would be the size of the British Museum Catalogue if subject references were included in the general alphabet.
1880W. H. S. Monck Introd. Logic v. 39 A particular proposition is not limited to some only of the objects denoted by the *subject⁓term. 1980A. Kenny Aquinas ii. 34 The word ‘substance’ can be used to refer to the thing that sentences such as the above are about: the object for which the subject-term of the sentences stands.
b. Used appositively in senses 7–9, as subject-object, subject-predicate, subject-verb adjs.
1933Jrnl. Philos. XXX. 65 We have described those features of *subject-object situations whereby the narrowness of a point of view is escaped. 1936J. R. Kantor Objective Psychol. Gram. xvi. 222 The logical essense of these cases can be clearly discerned in the fact that the nominative and accusative are subject-object cases. 1977Douglas & Johnson Existential Sociol. p. xi, Experimental or other methodological protocol can produce the so-called subject-object dualism.
1900B. Russell Leibnitz ii. 12 The question whether all propositions are reducible to the *subject-predicate form is one of fundamental importance to all philosophy. 1980A. Kenny Aquinas ii. 51 Sentences which are of subject-predicate form.
1935G. K. Zipf Psycho-Biol. of Lang. v. 234 One cannot determine a priori what actual proportion of spoken English consists of simple *subject-verb sentences. 1979Amer. Speech 1976 LI. 134 Of the nine problems covered, subject-verb agreement receives a thorough treatment.
▪ II. subject, a.|ˈsʌbʒɪkt|
Forms: α. 4 sug(g)ette, sougit, sujet, 4–5 suget(t, sogett(e, 4–6 soget, 5 sugget, soiet. β. 4 soubgit, subiet, 4–5 subgit, 5 subgyt, -gett, subiette, subyett, 5–6 subgette, 4–6 subget. γ. 4–6 subiect, 5 subyect, -iecht, 5–6 iecte, 6 -gecte, -jecte, 6– subject.
[a. OF. suget, subject (12th c.), sog(i)et, sougit, subg(i)et (13th c.), mod.F. sujet (from 16th c.), repr. L. subject-us, pa. pple. of subicĕre, subjicĕre, f. sub- sub- 3 + jacĕre to throw, cast.
Examples like the following are freq. in ME., where the word should prob. be construed as inflected adj., though formally indistinguishable from pl. n.:—
c1350Will. Palerne 463 Min eiȝen sorly aren sogettes to serue min hert & buxum ben to his bidding. 1382Wyclif 1 Cor. xv. 27 Whanne he seith, alle thingis ben sugetis to him. c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋634 Seint Paul seith O ye wommen, be ye subgetes to youre housbondes. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 106 Thai realmes be nocht subjectes to the empire.]
I.
1. That is under the dominion or rule of a sovereign, or a conquering or ruling power; owing allegiance or obedience to a sovereign ruler or state, a temporal or spiritual lord, or other superior.
(a) in predicative position.
αc1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14842 Þe Englys were nought of o wyl O kyng ouer þem to set, Ne for to be til on suget. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 44 And freris þat ben soget owen to þenke þat for god þei han forsaken here owen willes. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 59 Al West Saxon was soget to hym. Ibid. 123 To þat see is sugett Barokschire, Wiltschire, and Dorsett. c1450Mirk's Festial 22 All þe world was suget to þe Emperour of Rome.
β1390Gower Conf. I. 26 Therwhiles that the Monarchie Of al the world in that partie To Babiloyne was soubgit. c1425Engl. Conq. Irel. 26 Þer was noght of þe lond-folke þat all nas subyett to hym. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 218 Here speris the doctour, quhethir the king of Ingland be suget to the Emperour.., I ansuere..that thai ar nocht subget to the Empire. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 509 Pannonye was subgette vnto kyng pryant. c15111st Engl. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. p. xxxiv/2 All these be subgette to the great kynge of Israhel.
γc1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 426 To been subiect, & been in seruage To the þat born art of a smal village. c1400Destr. Troy 5507 Dukes full doughty..Þat subiect were sothely to þe same Perses. 1515Barclay Egloges iv. (1570) C iv, What time a knight is subiect to a knaue. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa vi. 265 All round about are subiect vnto the King of Tunis. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 36 The Island was subject to the King of Denmark. 1842W. C. Taylor Anc. Hist. xviii. (ed. 3) 573 The empire of India became subject to that of Persia. 1863M. Howitt tr. Bremer's Greece I. vi. 161 The freest of all the states of the earth became subject to a despot.
(b) in attributive position. (Sometimes hyphened as if subject were regarded as the n. used attrib.)
subject superior: see superior n.
1581A. Hall Iliad i. 11 Many a subiect towne of his. a1586Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1912) 246 He was not borne to live a subject-life, each action of his bearing in it Majestie. 1594Selimus 890 (Malone Soc.), As if t'were lawfull for a subiect prince To rise in Armes gainst his soueraigne. 1595Shakes. John iv. ii. 171 O, let me haue no subiect enemies. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iv. iii. §20 The Subject part of Mankind..might..with Egyptian Bondage expect Egyptian Darkness. 1781Gibbon Decl. & F. II. 5 note, The names of his subject-nations. 1792S. Rogers Pleas. Mem. i. 180 As studious Prospero's mysterious spell Drew every subject-spirit to his cell. 1802Pinkerton Mod. Geog. I. 309 Russia in Europe... Poland has been devoured; Denmark and Sweden may be considered as subject-allies. a1859Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxv. V. 296 The Court which had dared to treat England as a subject province. 1871Morley Carlyle in Crit. Misc. 197 The relations between..governing race and subject race.
b. to a law, a jurisdiction.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 391 Firste he sente messagers and heet his enemyes be soget to his lawe. c1450Lovelich Grail xliv. 25 And þat to ȝoure lawe no more soiet þat ȝe be, but Only to the lawe Of Cristyente. 1490Caxton Eneydos viii. 34 Alle subgette and obeyssaunt vnto the lawes of her seygnorye. 1580Rot. Scacc. Reg. Scot. XXI. 548 Alexander is nocht subject to the jurisdictioun of the saidis commissaris. 1690Locke Govt. ii. viii, To make him subject to the Laws of any Government.
2. transf. and fig. In a state of subjection or dependence; under the control, rule, or influence of something; subordinate.
(a) in predicative position.
αa1340Hampole Psalter xxxvi. 6 Be suget till lord, and pray hym. 1340― Pr. Consc. 1055 Þe mare world..suld be til man suggette, For to serve man. c1350Will. Palerne 473 My siȝt is soget to my hert. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 45 Þei wolden þat al þis world were suget unto þer sect. 1382― Luke ii. 51 He cam doun with hem..and was suget to hem. c1430Hymns Virgin (1867) 71 Deeþ is sugett to god to bende. c1530Crt. Love 1131 Us leffer were with Venus byden still,..and soget been Unto thise women.
βc1374Chaucer Troylus i. 231 He..wax sodeynly most subget vn to loue. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 34 His flesche sa dayntyt he had, þat to þe saule subiet he It mad. c1407Lydg. Reson & Sens. 6133 For crafte ys subget vn-to kynde. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. iii. (1883) 37 A man is subgett vnto money may not be lord therof.
γc1400Destr. Troy 1846 As subiecte vnto syn. 1508Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. Wks. (1876) 48 The woman is subgecte to the man. 1538Starkey England i. i. 12 [Man] lord of al other bestys and creaturys, applying them al vnto hys vse, for al be vnto hym subiecte. a1715Burnet Own Time i. (1724) I. 46 The military power ought always to be subject to the civil. 1723Waterland 2nd Vind. Christ's Div. 38 Christ, since his Incarnation, has been subject to the Father. 1841Helps Ess. Pract. Wisd. (1875) 5 Imagination, if it be subject to reason, is its ‘slave of the lamp’. 1847J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Ch. iii. 24 Parts of Britain, inaccessible to the Romans, but subject to Christ. 1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 71 Edith, whose pensive beauty, perfect else, But subject to the season or the mood.
(b) in attributive position.
1827[Tennyson] Poems Two Bro. (1893) 32 A subject world I lost for thee, For thou wert all my world to me. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iv. iv, Upholstery, aided by the subject fine-arts, has done its best. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 56 The virtue of temperance is the friendship of the ruling and the subject-principle.
b. to the power, law, command, etc. of another.
c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋1045 Alwey a man shal putten his wyl to be subget to the wille of god. c1400tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 55 Þat he ys subgyt to þe hegh myght of god. c1450tr. De Imitatione ii. xii. 58 Þe worlde & þe flesshe shul be made suget to þi comaundement. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. vi. 40 All that liues, is subiect to that law. 1736Butler Anal. i. v. Wks. 1874 I. 96 These affections are naturally..subject to the government of the moral principle. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxiv, Thou art the captive of my bow and spear—subject to my will by the laws of all nations. 1876Black Madcap Violet xv, He would no longer be subject to the caprice of any woman.
c. Under obligation, bound to. rare.
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. vij. 80 b, [They] are not subiect as the other are to watch or ward, nor goe vnto the Sarail. 1788Priestly Lect. Hist. lxiii. v. 504 He knows that if ever he be subject to pay, he will be proportionably able to do it.
†d. occas. uses: of a domestic animal; of a subordinate member of a series. Obs.
1633T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter ii. 4 The first subject beast he [sc. a lion] met withall was an Asse. 1711Shaftesbury Charac. III. 284 Had the Author of our Subject-Treatises consider'd thorowly of these literate Affairs.
†3. to make subject, bring subject: to bring into subjection or submission; to subdue, subjugate. Obs.
1382Wyclif 1 Cor. xv. 26 He hath maad suget alle thingis vndir his feet. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 277 Franci..made alle þe lond sogett, ffrom Sicambria anon to þe Ryne. c1440Gesta Rom. lii. 232 Now he is takyn, & made soget to his Enmyes, & þou art free. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxiv. 44 Suppois my sensualitie Subiect to syn hes maid my saull of syss. 1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 17 No man could then gesse that there should be any such Cyrus..that should bring subiect so mightie a monarchie vnder his dominion. 1587Holinshed Hist. Scot. 258/1 Not ceassing till he had brought the Welshmen subiect at his pleasure. 1643J. Burroughes Exp. 1st 3 ch. Hosea iv. 294 Conscience..is here made subject to low and vile things.
†4. Submissive; obedient. Obs.
1390Gower Conf. III. 52 His wif was such as sche be scholde, His poeple was to him sougit. c1400Apol. Loll. 42 To be mek and suget, and seruiciable, obedient and buxum to ilk man. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. v. (1883) 61 The peple..ryse agayn theyr lord and wole not be subget. 1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 327 Quhen I him saw subiect, and sett at myn bydding. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 164 The Moscovite [hath] more subjectes and more subject; the Polonian better soldiers and more couragious.
†b. transf. Easily managed. Obs. rare.
1619Times' Storehouse 690 [Rings] are..so subiect and light, that they may be worne on the least finger of the hand.
II. (Const. to.)
5. Exposed or open to; prone to or liable to suffer from something damaging, deleterious, or disadvantageous.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. ii. (1868) 67 It nediþ nat to seie þat blisfulnesse be anguissous ne dreri ne subgit to greuances ne to sorwes [orig. doloribus molestiisque subjectam]. 1388Wyclif Eccles. iii. 20 Alle thingis ben suget to vanyte [orig. cuncta subjacent vanitati]. c1450Myrr. our Ladye 191 He that was vndedly was made subget to dethe. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 421 Therfore is he subjecte [orig. objectum] unto great perilles and daungers. 1671Milton P.R. ii. 471 Subject himself to Anarchy within. 1682Dryden MacFl. 1 All humane things are subject to decay. a1700Evelyn Diary 24 Mar. 1672, Lord! what miseries are mortal men subject to. 1748Hill Hist. Fossils 346 It is of a very impure, irregular, and somewhat coarse texture, but not subject to spots or clouds. 1760R. Brown Compl. Farmer ii. 28 These lands are very subject to worms. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 233 The disabilities to which the Roman Catholics were subject. 1912W. B. Selbie Nonconf. xii. 225 Here and there..Nonconformists will still often be subject to certain social disadvantages.
b. Exposed to violent treatment, damaging weather, or the like.
1490Caxton Eneydos i. 11 To that other she gyueth to be subgette to the face of the ryght blody swerde. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxiii. 139 The citye..is very subiect vnto windes & Earthquakes. 1604E. G[rimstone] tr. D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. x. 103 This Region is very moist and subiect to raine. 1615G. Sandys Trav. 48 The Sultans themselves have bene sometimes subject to their insolencies. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iii. §6. 192 Gods true Church is subject to assaults in this world. 1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 7 The Isle of Lemnos..being very subject to Lightning. 1768J. Byron Narr. Wager (1778) 229 It is much too high built for a country so subject to earthquakes. 1833H. Martineau Tale of Tyne vi, Naval seamen are..made subject to violence. 1853Newman Hist. Sk. (1876) I. i. ii. 64 The sands of the adjacent deserts..are subject to violent agitation from the action of the wind.
c. Liable to disease.
1577Googe tr. Heresbach's Husb. 28 The stalke [of rye]..his eare hanging downewardes, and therefore more subiect to blasting. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa viii. 299 Some of the Egyptians are subiect vnto dangerous rheumes and feuers. 1663Gerbier Counsel 23 The bording otherwayes is much subject to rott. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 207 The more compound the water..the more subject will the patients be to fevers. 1863N. Brit. Rev. May 375 The leaf and chaff of the cereals are subject to a disease called rust. 1879Froude Cæsar xxviii. 483 He became subject to epileptic fits.
6. Liable to the incidence or recurrence of an action, process, or state.
1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 97 That the supercelestiall bodies are subiect to alteration. 1577St. Aug. Manual O vj b, Thou art not disseuered by places, nor altered by tymes, nor subiect vnto to & fro. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 117 A man of my Kidney..that am as subiect to heate as butter. 1625B. Jonson Staple of News ii. Interm. 33 Is there nothing to be call'd Infanta, but what is subiect to exception? 1710Addison Tatler No. 192 ⁋5 A kind of good Nature, that is not subject to any Change of Health. 1772Priestley Inst. Relig. (1782) I. Ded. 2 We are subject to successive impressions. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. ix. 715 The parties were rendered subject to personal examination upon oath. 1832Brewster Nat. Magic v. 120 The nose..is more subject to change of perspective than any of the other features. 1855Forbes Gram. Hind. Lang. 100 Accompanied by an adjective or pronoun subject to inflection. 1879in Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 96/1 He discovered that plants were subject to a regular sleep at night like animals.
b. Book-trade. (ellipt.) Subject to discount.
1906Daily Tel. 12 Oct. 10 What in the trade are known as subject-books..books that is to say which are subject to discount.
†7. Having a tendency, prone or disposed, to an action, or to do something. Obs.
c1590Montgomerie Sonn. xxv. 5 Syn I am subject somtyme to be seik. 1595Shakes. John iii. i. 14 A widdow, husbandles, subiect to feares. 1597― 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 325 How subiect wee old men are to this vice of Lying? a1625Boys Wks. (1630) 751 Toll-gatherers, as being subject to many foule extortions and oppressions. 1643in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. IV. 286 Nere any howses or other materialls which are subiect to take fyer. 1666–7Pepys Diary 20 Feb., How mean a thing a king is, how subject to fall. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxiv. ⁋11 The Inck would be subject to run off. 1721Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 95 The smaller Kinds of Animals, and such as are subject to be destroyed, encrease more plentifully. 1759R. Brown Comp. Farmer 52 Some young sows..are subject to eat their pigs. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §170 Any thing being in the way..would be subject to hitch upon the stone.
†8. That may be brought under the operation of a faculty or sense. Obs.
1591Harington Orl. Fur. Pref., The holy scriptures..are..not subiect to euerie weake capacitie. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 301 Be subiect to no sight but thine, and mine. 1611Tourneur Ath. Trag. iii. i, I feele a substance warme, Subiect to the Capacitie of sense. 1620T. Granger Div. Logike 41 The formes of artificiall things are subiect to our sence. 1667Davenant & Dryden Tempest v. iii. (1674) 80 They are Spirits, with which the Air abounds..but that they are not subject To poor feeble mortal Eyes. 1668Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xxii. 55 Scrotum or Scortum, hanging out like a purse or bag, and subject to the touch.
9. Dependent upon a certain correcting or modifying condition; conditional upon; resting upon the assumption of. Freq. advb., conditionally upon, with the assumption of.
1832H. Martineau Ireland v. 77 She wrote to her husband's dictation, subject to the suggestions of his companions. 1844Disraeli Coningsby ix. vii, Subject to an ample annuity to Villebecque, she bequeathed the whole of her fortune to the husband of Edith. 1883Law Times 10 Nov. 21/2 All other business should be transacted by single judges subject to appeal. 1890Law Times' Rep. LXIII. 734/1 His power to institute criminal proceedings is subject to the conditions imposed by sect. 2 of that Act.
III. 10. Lying in the neighbourhood below a certain level, as that of a spectator; subjacent. Obs. or arch.
1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 143 The region Hircany hathe on the este parte to hit the see of Caspy,..on the weste Hiberia, beenge subiecte to Caucasus. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xvi. 17 This Bourg..is enuironed with great hilles, vnto which of all sides it is subiect. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 19 Long he them bore aboue the subiect plaine. Ibid. iii. vii. 4 A little valley, subiect to the same. 1695Blackmore Pr. Arth. vi. 14 They..all around the Subject Ocean view'd. 1795Southey Joan of Arc v. (1853) 52 As o'er the subject landskip round I gazed. 1815‘Agrestis’ Feudal Hall xxii, The Baron's iron reign O'erawed, for leagues, the subject plain.
†b. Lying immediately below, underlying. Obs.
1578Banister Hist. Man iv. 56 The viij Muscles of Abdomen..are propugnacles, and defences to the subiect partes. 1667Phil. Trans. II. 497, I suppose, several subject Earths, Currents and Winds do vary it [phosphorescence of the sea].
†c. Laid open so as to be evident. Obs. rare.
1556R. Robinson tr. More's Utopia S iv, So finely set furth..and so euidently subiect to the eye.
†11. Forming the substratum or substance. Chiefly in matter subject = subject-matter. Obs.
c1374[see matter n.1 6]. 1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 162 Aristotle saith, that nature in one respect is said to be the first and chiefe matter subject of every thing that hath being. Ibid. 441 Looke out some matter subject, apt, and fit to recreate our spirits withall. 1586[see matter n.1 9]. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa ii. 70 Hauing made sufficient digression, let us resume the matter subject where we left. 1609[see matter n.1 6]. 1744H. Brooke Love & Vanity 156 And let her form be what you will, I am the subject essence still.
▪ III. subject, v.|səbˈdʒɛkt|
Forms: 4 suget(t)e, soget(t)e, sochete; 4–7 subiect(e, 6 Sc. subgek, pa. tense and pple. subie(c)kit, 6– subject.
[ad. OF. subjecter, -gecter, -getter, or L. subjectāre, frequent. f. sub(j)icĕre, subject- (see prec.); cf. It. soggettare, suggettare, Sp. sujetar, subjetar, Pg. sujeitar. Some of the early Eng. forms are assimilated to the α-forms of the n. and adj.]
1. trans. To make (persons, a nation or country) subject to a conquering or sovereign power; to bring into subjection to a superior; to subjugate. Also refl. Obs. or arch.
1382Wyclif 2 Chron. xxviii. 10 (MS. Douce 370) The sonis of Juda and of Jerusalem ȝee wiln subjecten to ȝou seruauntis and hond wymmen. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 169 Þe forseide Harolde, kyng of Norway..subjectid unto hym Denmark. c1460in Maitl. Club Misc. III. (1855) 38 Efter that the Romanis subjectit the Britones. 1530Palsgr. 742/1 They be nowe subjected to the emperour. 1565Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 362 Doand that in thame lyis to subject the haill stait of the commoun weill. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 162 Some of them haue subiected themselues to this crowne. 1651Hobbes Leviathan ii. xix. 95 Men..consequently may subject themselves, if they think good, to a Monarch. 1667Milton P.L. xii. 93 God in Judgement just Subjects him from without to violent Lords. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) I. Pref. 1 The Medes and Persians who were themselves subjected by the Macedonians.
b. to the rule, government, power, or service of a superior.
1552Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 3 All subjeckit to the service of ane lord. 1556Lauder Tractate of Kyngis 362 How thay suld Instruct thare floke That ar subiectit to thare ȝoke. a1661Fuller Worthies, Derbyshire (1662) i. 233 A meek..man, much beloved of such who were subjected to his jurisdiction. 1693Dryden Last Parting of Hector & Androm. 125, I see thee, in that fatal Hour, Subjected to the Victor's cruel Pow'r. a1700Evelyn Diary Sept. 1646, Should the Swisse..be subjected to the rule of France or Spaine. 1835Thirlwall Greece vii. I. 272 Phalces subjected Sicyon to the Dorian sway. 1839Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 42 Subjecting them to an unheard of tyranny. 1853Newman Hist. Sk. (1876) I. i. ii. 71 The service to which they were subjected was no matter of choice.
2. To render submissive or dependent; to bring into a state of subordination or submission.
1382Wyclif Ecclus. iv. 31 (MS. Douce 369) Ne sochete thou thee to eche man for synne. c1400Apol. Loll. 75 Þe condicoun of Jewis..þat is sogetid not to mannis tradicoun, but to Goddis ordinaunce. Ibid. 109 Tul he soget him to þe biddingis of þe apostil. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxx. 20 Thy vengeance seiss on us to syn subjectit. 1568Lauder Godlie Tractate 341 Least tha alwayis with Sin suld be subieckit. a1590in Montgomery's Poems Suppl. (S.T.S.) 199 Þai sleichtis sell neuir subgek me. 1605Play of Stucley in Simpson Sch. Shaks. (1878) I. 227, I will not subject my desire herein And wait upon his leisure. 1614Raleigh Hist. World ii. 217 Altogether feminine, and subiected to ease and delicacie. 1643J. Burroughes Exp. 1st 3 ch. Hosea ii. 39 If he subject that to his own base ends. 1654Bramhall Just Vind. ii. 9 They have subjected Oecumenical Councels..to the Jurisdiction of the Papal Court. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) I. Pref. 51 In order the better to subject the minds of the people. 1744Swift Three Serm. i. 10 This Doctrine of subjecting ourselves to one another. 1827Scott Surg. Dau. i, He..was unwilling to subject himself to that which was exacted in polite society.
absol.1667Milton P.L. viii. 607 Yet these subject not. 1692Dryden St. Euremont's Ess. 342 [Religion] compells and doth not subject enough.
†b. To overawe, prevail upon. Obs. rare.
1605Play of Stucley in Simpson Sch. Shaks. (1878) I. 214 To be threatened and subjected by him. 1670Walton Lives i. 29 Sir Robert put on as suddain a resolution, to subject Mr. Donne to be his Companion in that Iourney.
†c. To master, overpower (one's desires). Obs.
1620Venner Via Recta vii. 114 Such as respect their health, and can subiect their appetite. 1660R. Coke Justice Vind. 15 Subjecting all their passions and affections.
†3. intr. To be or become subject, submit to. Obs.
c1400Apol. Loll. 76 New law techiþ þat no prest nor clerk ow to soget to no seculer lord. 1624Bedell Lett. v. 90 Shee kils with the spirituall sword, those that subiect not to her. 1644Hunton Vind. Treat. Mon. iv. 20 He is unresistible, and to be subjected to actively in lawfull things. 1720Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 477 His Majesty's government, which they most heartily pray for, and subject to in all things they possibly can.
†4. trans. To place under something or in a lower position; to make subjacent to. Chiefly pass. Obs.
1578Banister Hist. Man v. 69 The rest of his way is subiected vnder Vena caua. 1594R. Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits (1616) 116 Spaine is not so cold as the places subiected to the Pole. a1676Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. vii. (1677) 190 The like Volcans..happen sometimes in the Land subjected to the Sea. 1807J. Barlow Columb. i. 194 O'er the proud Pyrenees it looks sublime, Subjects the Alps, and levels Europe's clime.
†b. To place (the neck) under a yoke. Const. to. (Only in fig. context.) Obs.
c1585Faire Em i. 89 A number such as we subject Their gentle necks unto their stubborn yoke Of drudging labour. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. ii. 120 To subject their necks to the yoak of Christ.
†c. To lay before a person's eyes. Const. to. Obs.
1715–20Pope Ep. Addison 33 In one short view subjected to our eye Gods, Emp'rors, Heroes, Sages, Beauties, lie. 1776Trial of Nundocomar 106/2 It would be highly improper that their books should be..subjected to curious and impertinent eyes.
†d. To lay open, expose (physically). Obs.
1793Smeaton Edystone L. §196 The work will always be dry, or subjected only to the rain.
5. To lay open or expose to the incidence, occurrence, or infliction of, render liable to, something. † Also occas. to render susceptible to, predispose to.
1549Compl. Scot. xx. 171 Euerye thing is subieckit to the proces of the tyme. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iii. 36, I rather will subiect me to the malice Of a diuerted blood, and bloudie brother. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋2 As oft as we do any thing of note or consequence, we subiect our selues to euery ones censure. a1700Evelyn Diary 12 Aug. 1641, It stands upon Contribution land, which subjects the environs to the Spanish incursions. 1701Swift Contests Nobles & Comm. Wks. 1755 II. i. 42 One folly, infirmity, or vice, to which a single man is subjected. 1758J. Dalrymple Ess. Feudal Property (ed. 2) 91 Clauses, subjecting the whole to forfeiture, in case the prohibition was infringed. 1770Luckombe Hist. Printing 350 Having too much wooll in them..will subject them to soon hardening. 1792Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 3 It would only subject the people to a renewal of the former outrages. 1830D'Israeli Chas. I, III. 72 A mind thus deeply busied..was necessarily subjected to its peculiar infirmities. 1845MacCulloch Taxation i. iv. (1852) 110 Is all that is upon the farm..subjected to taxation? 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 A blow or an abusive expression subjected the offender to a fine.
†6. pass. To be attributed to, inhere in a subject (subject n. 6). Obs.
1606B. Jonson Masq., Hymenæi Wks. (1616) 911 It is a noble and iust aduantage, that the things subiected to vnderstanding haue of those which are obiected to sense. 1649Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. iii. Disc. xiii. §13 When the relations are subjected in persons religious, and holy. 1659Pearson Creed (1816) I. 293 That all the sufferings of our Mediator were subjected in his human nature. 1664Jer. Taylor Dissuas. Popery ii. Introd. B 2 b, I hope I. S. does not suppose it [sc. infallibility] subjected in every single Christian man or woman. 1690Norris Beatitudes (1694) I. 92 For such and such Vertues as subjected in Man.
7. Logic. To make the subject of a proposition. (Cf. subjection 11.)
1628T. Spencer Logick 129 How they be predicated, and how subiected. 1725Watts Logic iii. ii. §3 A fourth Figure wherein the middle Term is predicated in the major Proposition, and subjected in the minor.
8. To bring under the operation of an agent, agency, or process; to submit to certain treatment; to cause to undergo or experience something.
1794R. J. Sulivan View Nat. I. 59 The polar parts being subjected to a colder medium, would be more compressed. 1801Encycl. Brit. Suppl. II. 357/2 One knows not how to subject to the laws of our perceptions that which is absolutely independent of them. 1838Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 274 The alcohol is then to be separated by subjecting the matter to strong pressure in cloth. 1842Loudon Suburban Hort. 94 This branch of garden management..has been subjected to scientific inquiry. 1855Bain Senses & Int. iii. ii. §8 (1864) 471 Subject the same persons to an extremely faint exhalation of the same substance. 1870Max Müller Sci. Relig. (1873) 125 When people began to subject the principal historical religions to a critical analysis. 1907J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo xix. 208 Just after this caravan had moved on we were subjected to some torrential rain-storms.
Hence subˈjecting vbl. n. and ppl. a.
1760Woolman Jrnl. vii. (1840) 83 The Spring of the Ministry was often low; and, through the subjecting Power of Truth, we were kept low with it. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. I. ix. 185 The ambition of Henry had..been moved..to attempt the subjecting of Ireland. 1881Fairbairn Studies Life Christ xvi. 302 The subject often suffers less than the subjecting people. 1912Engl. Rev. Jan. 295 Science is a subjecting of the mind to things, Art is a subjecting of things to the mind.
▪ IV. † subject, pa. pple. Obs.
[ad. L. subject-us, pa. pple. of subicĕre (see subject a.).]
Subjected.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 211 [He] hath subiect all thynges to hym, & put them vnder his fete. 1533Gau Richt Vay 50 S. Paul vritis in the first chaiptur to the Ephesians, God hes subiect al thing onder his feit. |