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Today's Word "subaltern"

A person holding a subordinate position on

Published in Vocabulary

subaltern \suhb-OL-tuhrn; SUHB-uhl-tuhrn\ (adjective) - 1 : Ranked or ranged below; subordinate; inferior. 2 : (Chiefly British) Ranking as a junior officer; being below the rank of captain. 3 : (Logic) Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition.

(noun) - 1 : A person holding a subordinate position. 2 : (Chiefly British) A commissioned military officer below the rank of captain. 3 : (Logic) A subaltern proposition.

"At the gates of the fortress, Fouquet was fretting and fuming in his carriage as he awaited the return of the subaltern, who finally came back in a rather sulky mood." -- Alexandre Dumas, 'The Man in the Iron Mask'

 

Subaltern derives from Late Latin subalternus, "subordinate," from Latin sub-, "under" + Latin alternus, "alternate," from alter, "other."


 

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