subn.1
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ A person who is subordinate to another in rank, position, or power; a subordinate official.Often short for sub-engineer, sub-lieutenant, sub-rector, sub-warden, etc. See also sub n.9Quot. 1696 may be an example of sub n.5
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > [noun] > one subject to authority
underlingc1175
subjectc1330
underloutc1340
undermana1400
ledec1400
undererc1449
subjectary?c1500
footstool1531
suppost1547
ditionary1555
justiciable1595
governeda1599
subsistent1598
subordinate1603
subservient1643
sub1653
subjugate1773
under-sawyer1864
directee1928
society > authority > office > holder of office > [noun] > subordinate
minister1442
juniora1530
subminister1558
underhead1599
subalternal?1608
mainpernor1631
sub1653
subaltern1706
under-somethinga1718
underling1796
1653 S. Fisher Παιδοβαπτιζοντες Παιδιζοντες: Baby-baptism 418 By the appointment of the Pope and his Subs and Subsubs viz. Christian Emperours, Kings and Princes.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) at Ordinary The Bishop of the Diocesses Sub [1706 Deputy] at Sessions and Assizes.
1791 T. Dwight Triumph of Infidelity 16 My leaders these; yet Satan boasts his subs, His Tolands, Tindals, Collinses, and Chubbs.
1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee i, in Tales Fashionable Life I. 221 Paddy..recounted some of sir Terence O'Fay's exploits in..fighting sheriffs, bribing subs, [etc.].
1840 H. Spencer Let. 23 Aug. in Autobiogr. (1904) I. xii. 173 I go..to complete sundry works which the Subs have left undone.
1842 C. G. F. Gore in Bentley's Misc. 11 613 He is never..tyrannical with his subs., like most great potentates.
1872 ‘A. Merion’ Odd Echoes Oxf. 38 Fear no more the snarl of the sub., Thou art past that tyrant's stroke.
1916 Internat. Clinics 3 295 Louis, who evidently believed in working his ‘subs’, drives him hard with English and Spanish translations for the yellow fever reports of the Gibraltar commission.
1974 P. McCutchan Beware, beware Bight of Benin ii. 17 At lunch, the sub had not allowed him to stand and the soreness had become worse.
2003 L. E. Atwater et al. in S. E. Murphy & R. E. Riggio Future of Leadership Devel. v. 92 (table) Holding feedback sessions with subs leads to more performance improvement.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subn.2
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ A subscriber. Cf. sub n.4
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > contribution > [noun] > subscription > one who
subscriber1671
sub1708
1708 Brit. Apollo 22–27 Oct. Thou hast neither good humour, Policy, nor Common Civility to make a Sub dance attendance after you like any indifferent Querist.
1838 T. Hood Clubs 62 Indeed my daughters both declare Their Beaux shall not be subs. To White's, or Blacks.
1871 C. Walford Insurance Cycl. I. 111 Notice should be given to subs. to pay the first payment.
1903 Med. World Sept. 418/2 Texas doctors, according to your list of subs., page 294, seem to like The Medical World.
2005 S. Shepard Telecom Crash Course (ed. 2) vi. 304 The largest broadband providers now account for over 30.9 million high-speed Internet subscribers, with cable delivering service to 18.8 million broadband subs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subn.3
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Military colloquial.
= subaltern n. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer or soldier of rank > [noun] > subordinate officer
captainc1380
under-officerc1400
petty officer1587
subaltern?1608
sub-officer1609
subaltern officer1611
sub1710
company officer1786
C.P.O.1907
1710 C. Shadwell Fair Quaker of Deal ii. 16 Pho, these are small Faults, and natural to you Subs of the Navy.
1756 G. Washington Writings (1889) I. 293 Leaving Garrisons in them from 15 to 30 men under command of a sub or Trusty Sergeant.
1810 E. Goulburn Pursuits of Fashion 68 A Sub' of Dragoons.
1865 C. J. Lever Luttrell xxxvi. 262 Some hard-up Sub who can't pay his mess debts.
1909 Pacific Monthly Feb. 206/1 He was always invited to partake and as invariably rewarded the ‘subs’ with a good story.
1960 D. Fearon Murder-on-Thames xiv. 115 I remember him when he was a Sub. He was Wavy Navy then.
2003 M. Urban Wellington's Rifles (2004) xxi. 231 A young sub or captain might..be cast out with half-pay, or worse.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subn.4
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Now colloquial.
= subscription n. 6. Frequently in plural in same sense. Cf. sub n.2
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > contribution > [noun] > subscription
subscription1679
sub1711
1711 Acct. Charity-schools Great Brit. & Ireland (ed. 10) 22 A noble Lord has built a Sch. which he will endow for the Education of all the poor Children in the Parish, 6 B. & 6. G. are Cl. yearly by the Sub. of the Minister & Inhabitants.
1805 M. L. Weems Let. 9 Jan. in Ford's M. L. Weems: Wks. & Ways (1929) II. 310 In 18 hours subscriptioneering I obtaind from the Legislature 100 subs. to Sydney.
1898 W. S. Churchill Let. 5 Aug. in R. S. Churchill Winston S. Churchill (1967) I. Compan. ii. 956 I have to pay £40 for one charger, £35 for the other & £20 subs to the mess.
1912 Daily News 12 Nov. 6 He lets the party have an annual ‘sub.’..of £10,000.
1958 R. Bloch in Imagination Aug. 122/1 triode No. 12 (Eric Bentcliffe: send subs. to Dale R. Smith, 3001 Kyle Ave., Minneapolis 22, Minn.: irreg.: 7/$1).
2001 T. Benn in D. Powell Tony Benn vii. 183 If I was a trade unionist, I would continue to pay my subs to the Labour Party.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subn.5
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ 1. A person who or thing which acts as a substitute.
ΚΠ
1777 J. Kirkbride Let. 15 Dec. in Pennsylvania Arch. (1853) VI. 96 I have lately given the most press'g directions for ye recovery of the sub: money, &c., throughout the Eight classes.
1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd II. iv. iv. 35 The agent..proposed that I should become sub for him there, and take charge of the sale of the land around.
1898 City & State 22 Sept. 184/1 A ‘sub’ for a regular, who was on his vacation, made the mistake, and the post-office says he was ‘severely punished’.
1917 Commerc. Telegraphers Jrnl. Nov. 377/2 ‘Con’ had a hard time getting a sub for the occasion but says it was worth the trouble.
1989 Mother Jones Oct. 60/1 I got the baby-sitting job..because a girl from my homeroom..called me up and said..she needed a sub.
2010 J. Peterik et al. Songwriting for Dummies (ed. 2) x. 193 If I want to stay in the key of A major and find a sub for the A major chord, I go to the sixth degree of the scale.
2. spec.
a. North American. A printer who is available to work in place of another; a substitute printer. Cf. substitute n. 4e. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printer > [noun] > compositor > temporary
grass hand1850
grass cutter1853
sub1854
substitute1855
1854 Harper's Mag. July 271/2 Justifying the ‘Compromise Measures’, which my ‘sub’ set up.
1876 Scribner's Monthly Apr. 838/1 He consented finally to allow another printer to take his place in the ‘Clarion’ office—temporarily, and as his ‘sub’ only.
1921 Internat. Stereotypers & Electrotypers Union Jrnl. Nov. 16/2 Detroit has had more subs this fall than for any time in four years.
2003 R. Mendel ‘Broad & Ennobling Spirit’ iii. 64 A regular (full-time) newspaper compositor reserved the option of when to work and could choose a sub to cover for him when he was not available.
b. Sport. A substitute player; = substitute n. 4d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > [noun] > a substitute > in work or sport
relief1709
substitute1826
sub1864
alternate1898
pinch-hitter1899
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > team or group > member of > reserve or substitute
substitute1826
sub1864
reserve1885
walk-on1965
1864 Field 9 July 22/1 Lillywhite was caught by Yescombe, a ‘sub’.
1896 Bootle Times 18 Jan. 3/2 North End were short of two of their regular players,..but managed to find good subs in Davies and Reed.
1911 Z. Grey Young Pitcher vi. 64 You can't even play sub on this team.
1942 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 11 May in Yours, Plum (1990) iii. 90 What happens in a cricket match when the bowler is suddenly snatched away in the middle of an over? Can you play a sub?
1956 Cumberland (Maryland) Evening Times 1 Mar. 16 When McGregor fouled Breedlove for his fifth personal and five minutes to go both benches became full of regulars and subs took over.
2001 A. Bissett Boyracers 94 You no come on as a sub against Motherwell last season?
c. Mechanics. In well-boring: a short section of pipe, tube, etc., used as adaptor to join two sections in a drill string; = substitute n. 8.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > drill > other drill parts or attachments
tache1683
temper-screw1865
sub1875
substitute1875
stem1880
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2433/2 Sub (Well-boring), a short name for substitute. A short section of rod for connecting tools or bars of different sizes.
1921 W. H. Jeffery Deep Well Drilling v. 198 A sub is screwed to the lower end of the drill stem, and a drilling bit, conforming to the size of the hole it is desired to drill, is screwed into the sub.
1963 Jrnl. Petroleum Technol. Jan. 14/2 Strain gauges mounted on a sub in the drill string were used to monitor bending stress.
2005 B. A. Gow Roughnecks, Rock Bits & Rigs vi. 176/1 The sub saved wear and tear on the threads of the kelly and could easily be replaced or rethreaded.
d. North American. A substitute teacher; = substitute n. 4c.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > schoolteacher or schoolmaster > [noun] > supply teacher
substitute1758
substitute teacher1817
supply teacher1874
relieving teacher1885
supply1893
sub1902
1902 32nd Ann. Rep. Normal Coll. (N.Y.) 15 The chief defect in desultory practice-teaching is that the pupil-teacher is not armed with authority. The children quickly discover that she is only a ‘sub’ (a substitute).
1953 Pittsburgh Courier 14 Nov. 2/4 (heading) High Court rules teacher's tenure out for ‘subs’.
1976 E. Keliher New Afr. High xix. 138 The superintendent ordered all administrators to teach at least five days each during the year as substitute teachers to..help relieve a critical shortage of subs.
2009 R. Doyle Winston Churchill was Catholic Priest xxv. 96 Subs are needed in schools, and many actually hire permanent subs every year.
Compounds
sub bench n. (also sub's bench) = substitute bench n. at substitute n. Compounds.In quot. 1896 as part of an extended metaphor.
ΚΠ
1896 G. Ade Artie xv. 137 As soon as any other guy gets in the game she puts me off on the sub bench.
1951 Boys' Life Dec. 8/2 On the field Rock saw Conners, Kingery, and Samuels sitting on the far end of the sub's bench.
2009 M. Horner He shot, he Scored vii. 86 Ward replaced Clark on the sub's bench and was called into action after 62 minutes.
subs bench n. (also subs' bench) = substitutes' bench n. at substitute n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1897 Illustr. Amer. 27 Nov. 691/2 Then my eye wandered to the ‘subs'’ bench, and I saw Philip Marchmont looking at me.
1919 Industr. Enterprise May 27/1 Our first team has been laying down on the job but we hope to wake the sleepy ones by letting them warm the subs bench for a while.
2000 P. Cummins Spare Ride v. 37 Dr. Turner would diplomatically place him on the ‘subs bench’ for his wife's emergency treatment.
2010 Irish News (Nexis) 9 July 76 The one thing Waterford do have in their favour is a strong subs bench.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
subn.6
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Chiefly British.
An amount of money paid in advance to soldiers, workers, etc., to supply their needs until the regular pay day; an advance of money. Also: the practice of advancing money in this way. Cf. subsist n., sub v.3
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > pay in advance
prest1359
press money1434
imprest1568
impress1600
fore-wages1606
subsistence money1677
subsistence1688
subsist money1749
sub1779
sub money1779
subsist1814
subsistence allowance1860
1779 in Coll. N.-Y. Hist. Soc. 1915 (1916) 574 (table) Sub. pr Mo.
1866 Min. Evid. Totnes Bribery Comm. 72/2 I do not think there was much money flying about before that, my bills were not paid; I was rather anxious about having my sub.
1881 Placard (Bury, Lancs.) Wanted navvies, to work on the above Railway, good wages paid, and sub on the works daily.
1886 J. Barrowman Gloss. Sc. Mining Terms 65 Sub, subsist, or subsistence, payment of wages to account.
1901 Scotsman 12 Apr. 9/5 Provided the men started to-morrow, each would receive a ‘sub’ of £1 on Saturday.
1984 Observer 4 Mar. 4/4 The deckhands have to appreciate that the money I give them in the form of a sub while they're in port has to be deducted from their gross earnings.
2003 A. Thomas et al. Managing Lawfully (ed. 4) 30 Ask the employee tactfully why she needs the sub.
Compounds
sub money n. now rare = subsistence money n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > pay in advance
prest1359
press money1434
imprest1568
impress1600
fore-wages1606
subsistence money1677
subsistence1688
subsist money1749
sub1779
sub money1779
subsist1814
subsistence allowance1860
1779 in Coll. N.-Y. Hist. Soc. 1915 (1916) 574 (table) Wages & Sub Money.
1843 J. N. White Eng. Country Life 270 The Bankers..have apportioned to them a certain sum per day, which sum is called ‘sub-money’ or ‘subsist-money’.
1906 Board of Trade Labour Gaz. July 220 Refusal of firm to pay ‘sub money’ to men who had lost time.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subn.7
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Chiefly U.S. Now rare.
= subject n. (in various senses).Chiefly as a graphic abbreviation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun]
thingeOE
evenOE
questionc1225
purposec1350
themec1380
mattera1387
reasonc1390
substancea1393
chapter1393
occasion1426
titlec1450
intentc1460
article1531
place1532
scope1549
subject1563
argumenta1568
string1583
matter subject1586
subject matter1587
qu.1608
haunt1622
seat1628
object matter1653
business1655
topic1728
locus1753
sub1779
ground1796
1779 Catal. Large & Curious Bks. Thomas Payne & Son. Addenda 28 Pamphlets. Quarto... Appeal to Magna Charta on the Sub. of Inheritance.
1813 W. H. Harrison Let. 18 May in Indiana Hist. Coll. (1922) 9 450 I will answer your inquiry on the sub. of [Joseph] Wheaton tomorrow.
1838 ‘L. Redivivus’ Paradise Lost 8 No longer was he heard to sing, Like loyal subs, ‘God Save the King!’
1910 A. N. Marquis Who's Who in Amer. 1910–11 739/1 Many articles on various subs. connected with dermatology.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† subn.8
Chemistry. Obsolete. rare.
= subsalt n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > salts > [noun] > specific types > basic salt
sub1802
subsalt1802
1802 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. II. ii. ii. 255 Every genus will comprehend under it as many species as there are bases; besides the triple salts and the subs and the supers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
subn.9
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ colloquial (chiefly British).
= sub-editor n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journalist > editor of journal or newspaper > [noun] > sub-editor
sub-editor1811
sub1822
rim man1923
slot man1928
1822 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 370 They lay out a cool hundred on advertisements every month; but Campbell does very little..and the Subs are no great shakes.
1859 Eclectic Rev. 6th Ser. 5 253 The Newspaper—day and night. By a Quondam ‘Sub’.
1901 Strand Mag. Aug. 166/2 The assistant-editor..remembered the discharged ‘sub’ very well.
1982 J. Fenton Memory of War (1983) iv. 65 Rouged admen, rugose Fleet Street subs.
2004 S. Maconie Cider with Roadies xxiii. 241 [He] took to beginning each of his features with the salutation ‘Greet the new dawn, bubs’ until the subs had a quiet word.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subn.10
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Chiefly colloquial.
1. = submarine n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > submarine
submarine1889
Holland1899
sub1915
pigboat1921
fish1925
guppy1948
killer submarine1955
snorter1962
nuclear1969
1915 Denton (Texas) Record-Chron. 25 Aug. 2/6 (headline) Bridge Attacked by British Subs.
1917 J. M. Grider Diary 29 Sept. in War Birds (1927) 21 We were supposed to look out for gulls which they say usually follow in the wake of a sub.
1927 Bee (Danville, Va.) 27 May 3/1 Destroyers are ‘tin cans’. Submarines ‘subs’. A torpedo is a ‘fish’.
1942 Fortune Nov. 195/1 (advt.) Coast Guardsman are a rugged lot... Placing depth bombs, exploding mines, watching for subs are all in the day's duty.
1968 A. Diment Bang Bang Birds ii. 16 Boris snooping round Holy Loch and the nuclear subs.
1986 T. Clancy Red Storm Rising (1988) xv. 176 They'd soon detected and gotten into trail position behind a Delta-III, a modern Soviet ‘boomer’, as missile subs were known.
2004 Discover Oct. 65/1 An underwater hydrophone array used by the military to track Soviet subs.
2. North American. = submarine sandwich n. at submarine adj. and n. Compounds 2c.Recorded earliest in sub sandwich n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > bread with spread or filling > [noun] > sandwich > other sandwiches
cheese sandwich1828
bacon sandwich1858
cucumber sandwich1896
club sandwich1903
western sandwich1908
Reuben sandwich1927
poor boy1931
po' boy1932
hero1938
hero sandwich1939
foot-long1941
steak sandwich1941
sub1948
sub sandwich1948
submarine1949
BLT1952
panini1955
tuna sandwich1957
hoagie1967
muffuletta1967
gyro1971
PBJ1971
stotty1971
Philadelphia cheesesteak1977
Philly cheesesteak1982
banh mi1985
1948 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 24 Jan. 14/4 (advt.) Pat's Corner..Invites you to try the new delicious super sub sandwich.
1951 N.Y. Herald-Tribune 31 May 24/1 We stood at Twilleys bar to see who came to buy ‘subs’.
1976 R. B. Parker Promised Land ii. 5 I was ready to settle for Ugi's steak and onion subs.
2009 Winnipeg Free Press 26 June d3/5 The tomato sauce on a meatball sub was equally unpleasant.
Compounds
subchaser n. a small boat equipped for military operations against submarines.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > subchaser
subchaser1915
submarine chaser1917
1915 Lethbridge (Alberta) Daily Herald 14 Oct. 7/5 (caption) ‘Mosquito Fleet’ of Sub-Chasers off for Russia.
1977 New Yorker 29 Aug. 20/1 A subchaser lurches forward on the calm water and comes to a stop as a black sub surfaces at its side.
2008 K. Sewell & J. Preisler All Hands Down (2009) i. 28 The North Koreans started their assault with a salvo from the subchaser's 57mm cannon.
sub sandwich n. chiefly North American = sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > bread with spread or filling > [noun] > sandwich > other sandwiches
cheese sandwich1828
bacon sandwich1858
cucumber sandwich1896
club sandwich1903
western sandwich1908
Reuben sandwich1927
poor boy1931
po' boy1932
hero1938
hero sandwich1939
foot-long1941
steak sandwich1941
sub1948
sub sandwich1948
submarine1949
BLT1952
panini1955
tuna sandwich1957
hoagie1967
muffuletta1967
gyro1971
PBJ1971
stotty1971
Philadelphia cheesesteak1977
Philly cheesesteak1982
banh mi1985
1948Sub sandwich [see sense 2].
1949 Emmetsburg (Iowa) Democrat 18 Aug. 8 (advt.) Sub sandwich. A nine inch bun full of good food! One is plenty!!
2002 Sunday Tel. (Sydney) 28 July (Queensland ed.) 67 Your biggest accomplishment was eating a seven-foot sub sandwich in one night!
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subn.11adj.
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ A person who plays the submissive role in sadomasochistic sexual activity. Contrasted with dom n.4 Cf. submissive n. 2. Also as adj.
ΚΠ
1987 Personal Ad in Adult Bookstore in T. E. Murray & T. R. Murrell Lang. Sadomasochism (1989) 128 I am the perfect sub, use me for your pleasure and then cast me aside!
1995 J. Miller Voxpop xviii. 228 I never had fantasies about what role I would take. I didn't really understand roles, that some people were dom and some sub.
1997 Los Angeles Mag. Dec. 76/2 A male Goth in a dress is a ‘Sub’.
2000 M. Barrowcliffe Girlfriend 44 xii. 342 ‘Which side of the equation are you on then?’ I said. ‘What?’ ‘Flayer or flayee? Sub or dom?’
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† subv.1
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To plough (land) using a subsoil plough; = sub-plough v.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > plough (land) [verb (transitive)] > deep plough
trench-plough1731
sub1775
subsoil1818
subsoil-plough1844
sub-plough1845
1775 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 20 Oct. (1778) sig. Q2 It was subbed by two oxen.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
subv.2
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ colloquial (chiefly North American).
1. intransitive. Of a person: to work or act as a substitute (for another). Cf. sub n.5
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printer > work as printer [verb (intransitive)] > work as printer's substitute
sub1853
1853 ‘M. Twain’ Let. 26 Oct. (1917) I. i. 26 I am subbing at the Inquirer office.
1879 University Mag. (Dublin) Nov. 589 He [sc. Edison]..‘subbed’ for the night men whenever he could obtain the privilege.
1950 A. Lomax Mister Jelly Roll (1952) 218 The lord of New Orleans piano was scratching hard for a living.., subbing for other piano players who showed up drunk on their jobs.
1974 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 24 July 10/2 Toronto Executive Alderman Arthur C. Eggleton subbing for Mayor David Crombie.
1981 B. Granger Schism (1982) x. 88 Father Malachy is subbing for the pastor at St. Mary's... The pastor broke his leg, jogging.
2008 B. L. Pressman Substitute Teaching from A to Z 212 At one point in my career, I subbed in the same school system that my children attended.
2. Sport.
a. intransitive. = substitute v. 7c. Also: (of a sportsperson) to play as a substitute.
ΚΠ
1895 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) 24 Apr. 6/2 Policeman Brown, who subbed for Heartt in the 1st inning, insisted on standing on the home plate so as to be ready for the ball whenever it came.
1937 Boys' Life Feb. 44/3 Great cheers went up from the home supporters when Curt Bryce, subbing for Hugh Gordon, scored the first points for his team on a difficult field goal from the side.
1972 Washington Post 14 Oct. c2/6 Second-stringer Al Glenny subbed in the fourth quarter and led an 84-yard touchdown march.
2006 A. Featherston Tobacco Road iii. 27 McGuire, who usually rode his starters until they dropped, subbed frequently during the first half and early in the second half.
b. transitive. = substitute v. 7b.
ΚΠ
1897 North Adams (Mass.) Transcript 22 Apr. 4 Plunkett, the regular pitcher, was subbed.
1923 Lethbridge (Alberta) Daily Herald 10 Jan. 6/4 He had played the first half as guard for the ‘Hi’, but in the second was subbed by Dave Thorpe.
1993 FIBA Basketball Monthly Mar. 46/1 Strickland had struggled with a leg injury late in the first period and was subbed.
2006 R. Mann 90 Minutes is not Enough xiv. 90 Halfway through the second half with Terry now struggling to impose himself in midfield so Terrance subbed him.
c. transitive. = substitute v. 7a.
ΚΠ
1917 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 25 Apr. 18/3 Morrison was subbed for Ferrer.
1935 Winnipeg Free Press 11 July 15/4 The ball came out to Pilous, who was subbed for Allan Hodgert.
1957 Tipton (Indiana) Daily Tribune 12 Dec. 4/2 Wilkerson was subbed for the injured Plummer.
1974 Grand Prairie (Texas) Daily News 24 May 10/4 Benji Wilson was subbed in as a pinch runner.
2007 B. Kilmeade It's how you play Game (2008) xviii. 78 The final embarrassing moment that had me leave team sports forever was when my brother was subbed for me in a basketball game.
3. transitive. To put or use (a thing) in place of another. Frequently with for, also with in.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > substitute [verb (transitive)]
changec1225
shifta1325
puta1400
underputc1400
put1483
put1535
subrogate1548
substitute1548
surrogate1586
counterchange1604
supplya1618
suffect1620
commute1667
succeed1667
to be in (another person's) shoes1842
sub1919
1919 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 24 Feb. 14/3 (headline) Semi-windup bout is subbed for city show.
1943 Sun (Baltimore) 17 Sept. 8/2 (heading) Subbing camera for gun, corporal ‘shoots’ zeros.
2005 Toro Nov. 43/2 The New York Bartender's Guide subs in Pernod for the absinthe.
2007 Women's Health Dec. 99/2 Just one cup of spinach provides 40 percent of your daily value—so try subbing it for lettuce on sandwiches and salads.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subv.3
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/, Irish English /sʌb/ slang (chiefly British and Irish English).
1.
a. transitive. To lend money to (a person), esp. as an advance on wages. Also with double object.
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society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > lend (money) [verb (transitive)]
prest1477
imprest1565
sub1858
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > pay (a person) for labour or service [verb (transitive)] > pay in advance
prest1539
imprest1612
sub1858
1858 Lancaster Gaz. 20 Nov. 6/3 The Surveyor had been in the habit of drawing £5 a week, to reimburse himself..for men whom he had subbed.
1867 Leisure Hour 4 May 326/2 One week he receives subsistence-money, being a ‘sub’ payment on account, or, as it is technically termed, he is ‘subbed’.
1888 Bristol Mercury 23 June 6/3 He frequently refused to sub men in the middle of the day.
1900 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 6 354/1 ‘I want you to go at once to London,’.. ‘All right; but I shall want to be subbed.’
1978 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 27 Aug. 53/2 His chauffeur for six years, said: ‘I sub him the odd quid or two, but I always get it back at the end of the week.’
1990 R. Doyle Snapper (1993) 55 Who's goin' to sub me till Thursday? said Yvonne.—Me, said Sharon.—I will. A tenner?
b. transitive. To borrow (money), esp. as an advance on wages; to receive a portion of (one's wages) in advance.
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society > trade and finance > financial dealings > borrowing money > borrow money [verb (transitive)]
sub1886
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (transitive)] > receive money in advance
sub1886
1886 Reynolds's Newspaper 21 Nov. 6/1 He had ‘subbed’ some money from his employer, meaning that he had obtained an advance.
1889 3rd Rep. Sel. Comm. Sweating Syst. 481 Up until recently the money used to be ‘subbed’, but now if the men want it, they cannot get it.
1935 ‘G. Orwell’ Clergyman's Daughter ii. 145 When work was over for the day she ‘subbed’ a shilling, and went down to the general shop in the village.
1967 Times 15 June 16/6 In industry men ‘subbed’ their pay repeatedly with the result that when some of them came to the pay shed on pay day they would draw only a pound or two.
2003 in P. Reynolds Sex in City vii. 157 She was subbing her wages from me a week in advance.
2. intransitive. To give or receive an advance on wages. Now rare.
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1883 T. Lees Easther's Gloss. Dial. Almondbury & Huddersfield Sub, to draw money on account before it is due.
1885 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (1886) 345 I knowed he were hard up, for when he come to my cow as was ill he subbed on th' job.
1892 Labour Comm. Gloss. Some pieces of cloth cannot be finished in one week, therefore a weaver must either do without wages or sub.
1901 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 7 356/2 It was my daily duty to keep time and to ‘sub’ for some hundreds of men engaged on extensive railway..works in England.
1955 Recorded Interview (Brit. Libr. Sound Archive) (Survey Eng. Dial.: C908) (MS transcript) Track 55 [Staffordshire] They used to talk about they are going to sub for the wages, if they wanted a bit of something.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subv.4
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ colloquial (chiefly British).
transitive. = sub-edit v.See also to sub the purple at purple n. 8b.
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society > communication > journalism > editing > edit [verb (transitive)] > sub-edit
sub-edit1830
sub1892
1892 J. Murdoch From Austral. & Japan 274 When Wilson, in ‘subbing’ his copy, cut out all the ‘u's’ from ‘favour’, ‘honour’, and so forth, there was a debating society of two.
1938 Rep. Brit. Press 172 City page copy is ‘subbed’ by special sub-editors, and goes direct from them to the printers.
1970 Daily Tel. 8 Sept. 12 Should..such a broadcast news service merely provide copy for editors to sub and newsreaders to read?
2002 L. Abrahams White Life of Felix Greenspan xix. 197 Rebecca Saffer's editor..subbed the article and scheduled it for her next issue.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subv.5
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Agriculture (originally and chiefly U.S.).
transitive. To subirrigate (land); (also) to supply (water) by subirrigation. Also intransitive: (of water) to pass through the subsoil; also with up.
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1900 W. M. Reed in Use of Water in Irrigation (U.S. Dept. Agric. Bull. No. 86) 98 There is some land along the river bottom that has been slightly ‘subbed’, but drainage by means of open drains is overcoming this difficulty.
1902 L. M. Wilcox Irrigation Farming (rev. ed.) xiii. 262 Let the water run long enough to sub to the seed.
1917 Proc. 2nd Pan Amer. Sci. Congr.: Conservation Nat. Resources III. 125 On light soil..the rise of the ground water, if it can be controlled, is sometimes beneficial. This produces a form of subirrigation generally spoken of as ‘subbing’ the land.
1949 Brownsville (Texas) Herald 21 Sept. 9/1 The deeper planting is best on cloddy soil where the water can be ‘subbed’ into the rows of seed.
1970 C. A. I. Goring in T. A. Toussoun et al. Root Dis. & Soil-borne Pathogens 231/2 Whether the water infiltrates downward or subs sideways into a plant bed.
2008 Southwest Farm Press (Nexis) 17 Apr. 16 The reason filling the soil profile with enough water to wet the seed zone is difficult is because, in some soils, water does not ‘sub-up’ readily from the irrigation tape.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subv.6
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Photography and Microscopy.
transitive. To coat (film, a slide, etc.) with a substratum of gelatin or other substance, in order to improve adhesion of emulsion, a specimen, etc. Cf. subbing n.6
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the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > coat or cover with a layer [verb (transitive)] > with a thin coating
overfilm1593
film1604
skim1667
sub1921
skin1946
1921 Monthly Abstr. Bull. (Eastman Kodak Co.) Dec. 527 For negative papers that are to be dry stripped, the paper is first subbed as usual with rubber, rosin, or rosin size.
1958 H. Baines Sci. Photogr. vi. 83 The rear side of roll film and sheet film is subbed (substratum coated).
1980 R. E. Schmitter in E. Gantt Handbk. Phycol. Methods xxvi. 331 These cleaned slides are then ‘subbed’, to provide maximum adhesion of sections and emulsion.
2006 J. Y. Park et al. in J. W. Change et al. Adv. Functional & Repartive Neurosurg. 147 Glass slides subbed with 0.2% gelatin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subv.7
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ British colloquial.
transitive. With up. To pay (a sum of money), esp. as a subscription; to ‘stump up’. Also intransitive.
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1942 O. Jespersen Mod. Eng. Gram. VI. 546 Sub = subsidy or subsistence.., also subscription..and as a vb., esp. sub up ‘subscribe’.
1958 G. Mitchell Spotted Hemlock vii. 75 ‘Wasn't that rather expensive?’.. ‘I believe Tony Biancini subbed up.’
1972 Observer 3 Dec. 27/1 Thirty of its members, having subbed up this prodigious sum for a single share in the club, are still not allowed to play.
1999 Equity Markets (Nexis) 11 Sept. 2 Shareholders cheerfully subbed up £350m.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subprep.
/sʌb/, U.S. /səb/ Originally: under, beneath. Later chiefly: less than or below (a time, quantity, etc.). Cf. sub- prefix 3h.In quot. 1818 a pun on the first element of subcommittee.
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1818 London Lit. Gaz. 26 Sept. 609/1 The other Subs [sc. members of a subcommittee] being then determined to be sub two of their own body no more.
1842 N. L. Foster Last of his Family (ed. 2) 170 As to my corpus, there remains yet some of me, Though vital warmth is ten degrees sub Zero!
1899 Photogr. Times Feb. 102/1 I got such a stock, there was no room For bottles sub my roof-tree.
1967 Ames (Iowa) Daily Tribune 10 Feb. 7/8 Errington is the best at this race that he has seen in 32 years of coaching and will probably be sub four minutes this year in the mile.
1977 Custom Car Nov. 5/4 Unless you can consistently run sub 12 seconds you're going to get beaten.
2009 A. Rees Running Over xii. 136 When it came to marathons he was on the verge of his tenth, having done his first in sub four hours.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> see also
also refers to : sub-prefix
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n.81802n.91822n.101915
n.11adj.1987v.11775
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