subfactorn.
/ˈsʌbˌfaktə/, U.S. /ˈsəbˌfæktər/, /ˈsəbˌfæktɔr/ 1. A person employed as a subordinate to a factor (branch I.); (Scottish) an assistant to a factor (factor n. 3a) whose main duty is to collect rent. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > one who acts or does > subordinate
subfactor1638
under-actor1723
society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > one who acts for another > subordinate
under-agent1677
subagent1683
subfactor1701
1638 L. Roberts Merchants Mappe of Commerce xlvii. sig. Mv In this Towne..some English have resided..; but they are accounted as subfactors to those resident in Constantinople and Smyrna, therefore I shall not need to say further of this place.
1701 in J. Robertson & C. Innes Munimenta Univ. Glasguensis (1854) II. 372 To grant a factory..for ingathering the rents..if subfactors can be got to uplift the same at any lower rate.
1705 tr. W. Bosman New Descr. Coast of Guinea vii. 94 When a Chief-Factor or Factor observes that his Sub-Factor or Ware-house Keeper are enclined to Extravagance.
1791 Mem. Lieut. J. Newlands, against Thomas Mercer 60 By his factory, he authorises him..to uplift from Mr Hay the sub-factor, the rents of his heritable subjects.
1866 N. Macleod Highland Parish (1867) viii. 155 Her rent was some months overdue, and the sub-factor threatened to dispossess her.
1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 348 Sub-factors ascended the rivers..and penetrated to the populous inland towns to push forward the traffic [in slaves].
1914 R. H. Nassau My Ogowe ii. 28 The real gain for the firm of H. & C. was to be made..in the Galwa trading-house, under his sub-factor, Mr. T. Sinclair.
2003 Hist. Scotl. Jan. 12/2 James Stewart, the man he was employing as subfactor on the Ardsheal estate, was the half-brother of the exiled chief.
2. A subordinate or subsidiary factor (branch II.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [noun] > that which
main thing1623
agent1624
influence1736
factor1816
subfactor1868
1868 Methodist Q. Rev. Apr. 188 Each is resolved into several sub-factors, or special forms of matter and force.
1885 Trans. Instit. Engineers & Shipbuilders 1884–5 28 91 The two sub factors of the factor for screw efficiency—viz., that involving true slip, and that involving water friction of screw.
1908 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 2 179/2 This matter of bills is only..a subfactor in commercialism.
1951 Social Forces 29 285/2 The subfactors which were explored measured the specific conditions of age, sex, schooling, income, [etc.].
2001 W. Arthur & D. Doverspike in A. F. Stuhlmacher & D. F. Cellar Workplace Safety 39 Emotional stability was measured in terms of three subfactors: emotionality, distractibility, and energy.
3. Mathematics. A factor (factor n. 6a) of a quantity that is itself a factor.
ΚΠ
1900 Math. Questions & Solutions 73 85 A period ( . ) is inserted between the sub-factors of an algebraic factor.
1950 Math. Gaz. 34 120 Thus 2001 is factor and so are its subfactors 23 and 29.
2009 A. H. Phan & A. Cichocki in C. S. Leung et al. Neural Information Processing I. 328 16 groups of 500 consecutive sub-factors in sub-tensors of size 1250 × 1250 × 5000 were used to simultaneously estimate 16 sets of sub-factors. Then from these sub-factors, we built up the full factors for tensor 5000 × 5000 × 5000.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1638