subdominantn.1adj.1
/ˌsʌbˈdɒmᵻnənt/, U.S. /ˈˌsəbˈdɑmənənt/ Music.
A. n.1
The fourth degree of major or minor scale, being the same distance below the tonic as the dominant (dominant n. 1) is above it; the fourth note in ascending and the fifth in descending a scale. Cf. superdominant n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [noun] > diatonic scale series > notes in diatonic scale
keya1450
seventh1591
fifth1597
final1609
octave1656
sub-octave1659
keynote1677
mediant1721
sensible note?1775
subdominant?1775
submediant?1775
medius1782
leading note1786
nominal1786
subsemitone1799
superdominant1806
supertonic1806
tonic1806
subtonic1817
dominant1823
sensitive note1845
nominal note1884
?1775 W. Waring tr. J.-J. Rousseau Dict. Music 47 This same imperfect cadence extends itself also from the sub-dominant to the tonic.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XII. 502/1 The chord of the sub-dominant.
1835 Court Mag. 6 26/1 She might if she pleased break through that eternal descent by two semitones from the dominant to the sub-dominant.
1863 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics (1866) 163 §207 The dominant and sub-dominant bear major triads.
1937 Times 16 June 14/2 The humour of that tune thrown from the tonic to the subdominant and back again prepared the way for the irresponsible fun to follow.
2007 A. Blatter Revisiting Music Theory iii. 121 Consisting of tonic, submediant, subdominant, dominant, and tonic, it is the basis of several easy-to-play-and-sing songs.
B. adj.1
Characterized by the use of a subdominant or subdominants; having a subdominant as a root.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [adjective] > diatonic scale > notes of
tonic1761
subdominant1803
dominant1813
submediant1851
superdominant1864
1803 A. Gunn Introd. Music 157 The subdominant chord, or the chord of the 4th of the scale, with added 6th, may have also three inversions.
1806 J. W. Callcott Musical Gram. iii. ii. 175 §4 The last, or Dominant change, in the former part of a Movement; and the first, or Subdominant change, towards the conclusion.
1863 E. Atkinson tr. A. Ganot Elem. Treat. Physics (1866) 162 §207 The tonic, dominant, and sub-dominant chords.
1921 C. G. Hamilton et al. Music Students Piano Course V. vi. 34 In this lesson it [sc. a key] has one sharp less, and is therefore a subdominant modulation.
1989 P. van der Merwe Origins Pop. Style x. 97 In ‘Pop goes the Weasel’..the note A in the second-last bar implies the subdominant chord.
2002 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 24 Mar. It comprises 12 bars based on a standard arrangement of the tonic, dominant and subdominant harmonies.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subdominantadj.2n.2
/ˌsʌbˈdɒmᵻnənt/, U.S. /ˈˌsəbˈdɑmənənt/ A. adj.2
1. Less dominant than something else of the same kind, esp. in a particular time or place; secondary or subordinate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective] > subordinate
collateralc1374
subalternate?a1425
subalternal1483
subaltern1578
subordinate1620
subordinatinga1635
subordinated1640
subalternated1659
subordinant1678
second line1797
subdominant1826
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > low or subordinate
wokec897
lessOE
lesserc1225
secondary1386
lowerc1390
subalternate?a1425
subsidiary1603
pedaneous1617
subordinate1620
undergraduate1655
subdominant1826
unlofty1869
lower case1917
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. IV. xlix. 493 We may take Scolia for an example of a subdominant group beginning more southward.
1844 C. L. Lordan Colloquies iii. 142 The Old Man's voice had been subdominant,—heard now and then.
1858 Times Dec. 10/2 The subdominant wind is the opposite one.
1918 Long-and-short Haul Railways (U.S. Committee Interstate & Foreign Commerce) 372 This sub-dominant idea which is in their minds all the time.
1987 R. Eisler Chalice & Blade (1988) Notes 227 Any fundamental alteration in the subdominant position of women had to be prevented at all costs.
2010 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 24 July l. 1 The bookcase and storage cabinet would be the dominant pieces. The stripes and other furniture were subdominant.
2.
a. Forestry. Designating the class of trees which form the lower part of a canopy at a given time; of or relating to such trees.
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the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > wood or assemblage of trees or shrubs > [adjective] > forming part of main canopy
codominant1882
subdominant1893
1893 J. D. Nisbet Advantages Underplanting Light-demanding Forest Trees 18 The weaker individuals that fell into the subdominant class showed gradual diminution of increment in consequence of their crowns becoming suppressed.
1903 Indian Forester 29 395 Three classes can be differentiated: the predominant, 10 feet above the general level..; the sub-dominant, ready to occupy the air-space of any of the superior class should accident remove any of them; and lastly, the suppressed ones.
1972 M. W. Foiles Responses Western White Pine Stand Commerc. Thinning Methods 7 This would release other species in the subdominant crown level for better growth.
2010 D. Lamb Regreening Bare Hills vi. 246 In this case sub-dominant or suppressed trees having poor stem form are removed in the first thinning.
b. Ecology. Designating a species of plant which is prevalent in a community, but below the dominant in frequency or significance. Cf. dominant adj. 8.
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the world > life > biology > balance of nature > organisms in interrelationship > [adjective] > organisms by position in community
subdominant1898
recedent1944
1898 Geogr. Jrnl. 12 582 Each dominant species determines its characteristic surrounding minor flora with its subdominant, solitary, and dependent forms.
1909 E. Warming et al. Oecol. Plants xxxv. 139 Every community consists of dominant and sub-dominant species, as well as of others that are more or less dependent upon these and occur only here and there.
1923 Ecology 4 13 Species belonging to life-forms of subordinate rank (i.e. subdominant species) have also to be considered.
1969 Gloss. for Landscape Work (B.S.I.) v. 39 Sub-dominant..Of a species, that species in a mixed crop which is selected to come next in precedence to the dominant.
2005 B. Capon Bot. for Gardeners (rev. ed.) 110 Subdominant species, adapted to existing with a lesser share of community resources, enjoy the protection given by their more vigorous competitors.
B. n.2
A subdominant person or thing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > balance of nature > organisms in interrelationship > [noun] > organisms by position in community
synusium1924
synusia1926
subdominant1933
1835 G. Field Chromatogr. xiv. 132 Nature employs this hue [sc. purple] beautifully in landscape, as a sub-dominant.
1893 G. M. Gould Meaning & Method Life xiii. 242 The modern sympathy with animals (a subdominant in much biological study).
1933 Forestry 7 122 These tables show that there is little difference between the various stem-classes—dominants, co-dominants, and sub-dominants.
1965 C. V. Willie in A. W. Gouldner & S. M. Miller Appl. Sociol. xv. 213 The dominant category consists of people with access to the community's wealth,..while subdominants have knowledge of the sentiments..of the people.
2009 D. J. Gibson Grasses & Grassland Ecol. vi. 118/2 The species [of grass] that started growth first..had an advantage... [This can be] altered by grazing, which tends to disadvantage the taller dominants and favour the shorter subdominants.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1adj.1?1775
adj.2n.21826