subcontinentn.
/ˌsʌbˈkɒntᵻnənt/, /ˈsʌbˌkɒntᵻnənt/, U.S. /ˌsəbˈkɑntn̩ənt/ 1. A subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity; (also) a large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent.
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the world > the earth > land > land mass > continent > [noun] > subcontinent
subcontinent1845
1845 W. Darby Univ. Gazetteer (ed. 4) 51/1 The great Western [mountain] systems..range along or at no great distance from the western coasts of both sub-continents [sc. North and South America].
1863 T. H. Huxley Evid. Man's Place Nature iii. 154 From central Asia eastward to the Pacific islands and subcontinents on the one hand, and to America on the other.
1908 Fortn. Rev. Sept. 416 What enemy has Australasia at her doors? The sub-continent is isolated.
1913 C. R. Enock Republics Central & South Amer. xvi. 519 The Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Romans,..have no counterpart in the great continent and sub-continent of Latin America.
1920 Nation 20 16 The ‘Indian States’..cover, in various degrees of subjection to Great Britain, over a third of the South Asian sub-continent.
1950 Amer. Fern Jrnl. 40 112 The Antarctic floristic element is of great interest to the plant geographer for its suggestion of early migration paths from an antarctic subcontinent.
1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 23 Mar. 318/2 The breakaway of Bangladesh has effected a second partition of the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent.
1990 B. R. Allanson et al. Inland Waters Southern Afr. ii. 9 The coastal rimland of the southern subcontinent has been subject to successive elevations and subsequent coastal abrasion.
2. With the.
a. Southern Africa; spec. South Africa. Now rare.
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the world > the earth > land > land mass > continent > [noun] > specific
Lemuria1864
Gondwanaland1896
subcontinent1896
Fennoscandia1907
subcontinent1907
Pangaea1924
Laurasia1931
Euramerica1972
Gondwana-
1896 Rep. Governm. Entomologist for 1895 (Cape of Good Hope Dept. Agriculture) 4 Malignant jaundice is commonly known in South Africa as distemper... As..one of the most common diseases affecting dogs in the subcontinent, it is worthy of investigation.
1911 United Empire June 389 Rhodesia might have seemed the Never-never-land of the sub-continent, a Cinderella among South African States.
1947 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. xiii. 94 The springbuck..is the only representative of the gazelle group, which is found in the sub-continent.
1979 Eastern Province Herald (Port Elizabeth) 30 June 7 The Nguni people are widely spread over the subcontinent and include the Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Shangaa[n], Ndebele and Ngoni.
b. = Indian subcontinent n. at Indian adj. and n. Compounds 1a(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > continent > [noun] > specific
Lemuria1864
Gondwanaland1896
subcontinent1896
Fennoscandia1907
subcontinent1907
Pangaea1924
Laurasia1931
Euramerica1972
Gondwana-
1907 Imperial & Asiatic Q. Rev. Apr. 266 The difficulties to be faced vary in different parts of the subcontinent, and each problem will be most easily solved provincially.
1916 A. E. Duchesne Democracy & Empire x. 69 The beliefs and traditions of the communities composing the population of the subcontinent.
1951 Life 28 May 20/2 India is always hungry... Even when food is available, distributing it throughout the subcontinent is complicated by crude transportation.
1989 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Mar. Hinglish, the glorious jumble of good, bad and ugly English used in the subcontinent.
2005 Delicious Nov. (Flavours of India Suppl.) 19/1 Lentil-based dal is a menu essential across the sub-continent.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1845