subalternn.adj.
/ˈsʌblt(ə)n/, U.S. /səˈbɔltərn/, /səˈbɑltərn/ A. n.
1. Logic.
a. Either of a pair of propositions consisting of a universal proposition and a particular proposition having the same subject and predicate and being of the same quality (i.e. affirmative or negative); spec. the particular proposition of such a pair. Cf. subalternant n., subalternate n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [noun] > universal proposition > subsidiary proposition
subalternc1475
particulara1500
lemma1570
hypothesis1596
subalternate1651
under-proposition1691
c1475 Court of Sapience (Trin. Cambr.) (1927) l. 1861 (MED) Dame Dialetica..Whyche subalterne, whyche contradiccion, Whyche ys contrary, taught she by reason.
1671 J. Newton Introd. Art Logick xxii. 78 Amabimus, and Edentuli are subcontraries. Purpurea and Edentuli are contradictories; and so are Iliace and Amabimus; Purpurea and Amabimus are subalterns.
1685 tr. P. Nicole & A. Arnauld Logic ii. ii. 169 If they differ in Quantity only, and agree in Quality, as A.I. and E.O. they are call'd Subalterns.
1737 B. Martin Bibliotheca Technologica 214 A I and E O are call'd Subalterns: Wherein (I.) if A or E be true, I or O will be true also, but not the contrary.
1750 J. Wesley Compend. Logick i. ii. 10 Subalterns are sometimes both true, sometimes both false; sometimes one true, the other false.
1816 Elements of Logic ii. iii. 47 Propositions which differ only in quantity are called subalterns.
1870 W. S. Jevons Elem. Lessons Logic ix. 78 Of subalterns, the particular is true if the universal be true.
1917 R. W. Sellars Essent. Logic ix. 101 When the contrary universal is true, both subalterns are false.
1921 W. Poland Laws of Thought (rev. ed.) 44 The particular is implied in the universal. It is a subaltern of the universal.
1991 W. T. Parry & E. A. Hacker Aristotelian Logic ii. viii. 158 Superalternation of opposites (or subaltern opposition) is the relation of a subaltern to its superaltern.
b. A genus which is itself a species of a higher genus (see genus n. 1). Cf. species n. 7a. Now rare.All genera are subalterns with the exception of the highest or summum genus, and every species is a subaltern unless it is an infima species. See summum genus n., infima species n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [noun] > universal proposition > subsidiary proposition > genus of
subalterna1620
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) ii. iii. §3. 219 The subalternes, are both, in their diuers relations; Genera, to their inferiors; and Species, to their superiors.
1750 J. Wesley Compend. Logick i. i. 6 A Genus is either the Highest, or a Subaltern: A Species is either a Subaltern, or the Lowest.
1796 J. Collard Essent. of Logic ii. ii. 39 All the intermediate genera, between the highest genus, and the lowest species, are distinguished by the name of subalterns.
1856 R. G. Latham Logic in its Applic. to Lang. 174 It is convenient to denote the approach of a subaltern to a summum genus by the word generic.
1899 J. H. Hyslop Logic & Argument iii. 36 All intermediate terms between these extremes are sometimes called subalterns, as being either genera or species, according to the relation in which they are viewed.
1900 Methodist Rev. July 572 Finally we arrive at the highest order, the summum genus, which includes all subalterns classified under one attribute.
1979 K. Gyekye tr. Ibn al-Ṭayyib in Arabic Logic 63 The first two descriptions, however, pertain to every species whether an infima or a subaltern.
2.
a. A person or (occasionally) thing of inferior rank or status; a subordinate. Now chiefly in critical and cultural theory, esp. post-colonial theory: a member of a marginalized or oppressed group; a person who is not part of the hegemony.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun]
lowerc1175
nethererc1443
inferior?1504
puny1579
under-being1587
puisne1592
subaltern1605
little sistera1634
undermatcha1661
wretch1688
sub-man1840
missing link1863
small-timer1910
society > authority > office > holder of office > [noun] > subordinate
minister1442
juniora1530
subminister1558
underhead1599
subalternal?1608
mainpernor1631
sub1653
subaltern1706
under-somethinga1718
underling1796
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > creation or description of characters > subordinate character
subaltern1764
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 4 When all Christianitie in the Counsell Constance was divided into Nations, Anglicana Natio was one of the principall and no subalterne.
a1628 F. Greville Life of Sidney (1651) i. 14 They..both encourage, and shaddow the..conspiracies of ambitious subalternes to their false endes.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Subalterns, inferiour Judges, or Officers.
1764 H. Walpole Castle of Otranto p. vi But besides their opposition to the principal personages, the art of the author is very observable in his conduct of the subalterns.
1787 C. Smith Romance Real Life II. 133 If the subalterns of the law once seize on the property.
1816 ‘Quiz’ Grand Master i. 3 Passive obedience under wrongs, 'Tis thought, to subalterns belongs.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay v. 83 The chef de la sûreté and his subaltern.
1937 Mod. Lang. Notes 52 46 Alexander allotted the scepters of Asia among his subalterns.
1948 Antioch Rev. 8 333 Thus the sons of the Puritans, the abolition uplifters, joined hands with the subalterns of industry to widen the democratic way of life.
1983 Jrnl. Mod. Afr. Stud. 21 109 An African middle class, viewed as Black ‘subalterns’ rather than as a potentially autonomous fraction of the bourgeoisie.
1999 N. Persram in V. Jabri & L. Rienner Women Culture & Internat. Relations 66 An effort is made to allow the conscious, individualized subaltern to speak, unfettered by the western Self's political shackles.
b. Military. A junior officer, i.e. one below the rank of captain.
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
?1608 S. Lennard tr. P. Charron Of Wisdome iii. iii. 395 There are two sorts, the Generall and first, and afterwards the subalterne, the master of the Campe, Collonels.
1690 London Gaz. No. 2616/3 The Marquis de St. George,..with his Lieutenant-Colonel, Major, 10 Captains, and 25 Subalternes are arrived here.
1760 Cautions & Advices to Officers of Army 77 A Subaltern will find it extremely difficult to live upon his Pay, and support the Appearance of a Gentleman.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 431 The respective companies choose their captain, and subalterns.
1811 Gen. Regul. Army 37 No Officer shall be promoted to the Rank of Captain, until he has been Three Years a Subaltern.
1846 R. Browning Luria iii, in Bells & Pomegranates No. VIII 11/1 How could subalterns like myself expect Leisure or leave to occupy the field?
1898 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Roden's Corner x. 99 Major White had, in his subaltern days, been despatched from Gibraltar on a business quest into the interior of Spain.
1913 Army Order 323 16 Sept. §4 A company will be divided into four platoons, each commanded by a subaltern.
1955 Times 10 May 10/5 His Majesty presented the Colours to two subalterns.
2001 Navy News Sept. 50/1 A Navy polo team broke a 104-year duck by winning the annual Captains and Subalterns polo tournament at Tidworth.
B. adj.† 3. Succeeding in turn; following, successive. Obsolete.
1. Logic.
a. Designating both of a pair of subalterns (sense A. 1a); designating either proposition of such a pair (in relation to the other); (also) of, relating to, or designating this relation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [adjective] > of universal or particular propositions
universalc1450
particular1551
subaltern1566
subcontrary1566
singular1654
lemmatical1665
indefinite1773
indesignate1844
semi-definitea1856
1566 R. Horne Answeare M. J. Fekenham f. 100 Being propositions, they are not one against the other contrary, subcontrary, subalterne nor contradictory.
?1568 L. Evans Abridgem. Logique sig. B.viv The fourth (so to speake it) is subalterne, as all vertues are to be praised, some vertue is to be praysed.
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. i. iii. 30 Subaltern, are Universal and Particular Propositions of the same Quality; as, Every Man is a Living Creature, Some Man is a Living Creature.
1677 T. Good Brief Eng. Tract Logick 25 Subaltern Propositions are such which Differ only in Quality, one being Universal, the other Particular as thus.
1725 I. Watts Logick ii. ii. §3 Both particular and universal Propositions which agree in Quality but not in Quantity are call'd Subaltern.
1750 J. Wesley Compend. Logick i. ii. 10 It is easy..To enumerate the Species of Opposition, which are Contradictory, Contrary, Subcontrary and Subaltern.
1821 J. Hill tr. H. Aldrich Artis Logicæ Rudimenta (ed. 2) 96 Subaltern propositions may be both true, or both false; or the universal false, and the particular true.
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic vi. 162 I can immediately infer the truth of its Subaltern Opposite.
1906 Jrnl. Philos. 3 286 The gulf between a subaltern proposition and its subalternates.
1942 J. C. Cooley Primer Formal Logic vii. 330 The conclusion is subaltern to a universal proposition which could have been derived from the same premises.
2010 S. L. Pratt Logic iv. 104 In the 20th century..relations such as the subaltern relation, where if the A assertion were true then the corresponding I assertion was also true, were rejected.
b. Designating a genus which is itself a species of a higher genus; (also) designating a species which is also a genus. Frequently in subaltern genus. Cf. sense A. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical classification > [noun] > a division, group, or class > categories in relation to each other
summum genus1592
subaltern genusa1705
superordinate1817
non-class1936
a1631 J. Downe Svbiection to Higher Powers in Certaine Treat. (1633) 4 For as in Logicke that Genus which they call Subalterne, though it be a Genus in respect of those Species that are vnder it, yet in regard of the Genus aboue it is but a Species.
1671 J. Newton Introd. Art Logick vi. 23 They are said to be subaltern Generals, whereof one is essentially contained by the other; as an Animal and a Body.
a1705 J. Ray Three Physico-theol. Disc. (1713) ii. iv. 149 A distinct subaltern Genus.
1725 I. Watts Logick i. iii. §3 This sort of universal Ideas, which may either be consider'd as a Genus, or a Species, is call'd Subaltern.
1826 R. Whately Elements Logic ii. 65 Iron ore is a subaltern species or genus, being both the genus of magnet, and a species of mineral.
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic iv. 72 The intermediate Concepts are the Subaltern Genera or Species.
1937 Jewish Q. Rev. 27 240 How can God be the summus genus when the intermediate steps, the subaltern species, are also universals and therefore non-existent?
1951 Philos. Rev. 60 559 The relation of resemblance is internally differentiated into subaltern genera.
1987 H. M. Hoenigswald & L. F. Weiner Biol. Metaphor & Cladistic Classif. i. 6 The traditional tree of Porphyry or Porphyrian scale..was a purely logical method of exhibiting the series of subaltern genera to which a concept may be assigned.
2.
a. Of a thing: subordinate, inferior (to another). Now chiefly in critical and cultural theory, esp. post-colonial theory: of or relating to those who are marginalized or oppressed (cf. sense B. 2b).
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 > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior thing > [adjective]
salec1299
bastarda1348
sorry1372
slight1393
shrewd1426
singlec1449
backc1450
soberc1450
lesser1464
silly?a1500
starven1546
mockado1577
subaltern1578
bastardly1583
wooden1592
starved1604
perishing1605
starveling1611
minor1612
starvy1647
potsherd1655
low1727
la-la1800
waif1824
lathen1843
one-eyed1843
snide1859
bobbery1873
jerkwater1877
low-grade1878
shoddy1882
tinhorn1886
jerk1893
cheapie1898
shaganappi1900
buckeye1906
reach-me-down1907
pissy1922
crappy1928
cruddy1935
el cheapo1967
pound shop1989
society > authority > subjection > [adjective] > subject to oppressive rule
upsete1390
oppresseda1500
servile1547
subaltern1578
grinded1613
ridden1625
tyrannized1642
1578 Sir P. Sidney Let. 31 May in Wks. (1968) III. 127 Theire Courtes of Parliament their Subalterne Jurisdiccions.
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxv. 124 Where to much distraction is, and subalterne professions be made seuerall heads.
1601 J. Wheeler Treat. Commerce 25 A Deputie, and certaine discreet persons..who..haue subalterne power to exercise Merchants law.
1606 H. Holland tr. R. Rollock Treat. Gods Effectual Calling xxiv. 127 The common place of sin..is subalterne to the place or generall head of our calling.
1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xxiii. 204 Which [motion] when it is once in act, hath..many other subalterne motions ouer which it presideth.
1733 G. Douglas tr. J. B. Winslow Anat. Expos. Struct. Human Body I. iii. 150 The Composition of the Fibres of this Muscle, and its Division into several subaltern Muscles.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 72. ⁋2 You have shown yourself not ignorant of the value of those subaltern endowments.
1817 Lady Morgan France (1818) I. 18 Gallantly fighting his way through every subaltern degree of his profession.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I. x. 264 Protect the poor against subaltern oppression.
1868 W. E. Gladstone Juventus Mundi xi. 416 Sometimes the sovereignty was local, or subaltern.
1922 Inter-Amer. Apr. 210/2 His cabinet, freed from the shackles of subaltern and dynamic politics, was formed of illustrious men.
1993 K. Keulman Crit. Moments in Relig. Hist. 12 Even at its apex, Buddhism was subaltern to the secular order.
1995 Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Feb. 4/1 Orientalism has more often been thought of as a kind of testimonial to subaltern status—the wretched of the earth talking back.
2003 R. Radhakrishnan Theory in Uneven World v. 123 How is subaltern self-reflexivity to be differentiated from the dominant or the hegemonic version?
b. Of a person or group of people: subordinate, inferior (to another); of a lower rank. Now chiefly in critical and cultural theory, esp. post-colonial theory: marginalized, oppressed; not part of the hegemony.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > [adjective]
underheilda1300
underlouta1300
underling?1370
subjecta1382
obeisantc1390
obedienta1398
subditc1430
subordinatec1485
subjugal?c1500
liablec1571
subaltern1581
regardant1583
obnoxious1591
vassal1594
servient1606
subservient1638
succumbent1647
ancillary1667
secondary1667
supposite1677
discretional1776
obedientiary1794
heteronomousa1871
satellite1882
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [adjective]
unprincipal?1541
sillya1547
faulty1574
subaltern1581
suffragant1603
faulted1608
under-rate1709
1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha i. v. 26 From the King..ought to flow all auctoritie to the inferiour and subalterne Iustices.
1597 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 154 Na maister..(except of the sang school), bot sic as sal be subalterne to the maister of the grammer school.
1598 R. Dallington View of Fraunce sig. Q2v To this Parliament, they appeale from all other subalterne Courts throughout the Realme.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 472 The Iudges for terme of life, and officers subalterne changing from yeare to yeare.
1699 Bp. G. Burnet Expos. Thirty-nine Articles i. 18 Others holding a vast number of Gods, either all equal or subaltern to one another.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Patriarchs..had several Wives, who did not all hold the same Rank; but there were several subaltern to the principal Wife.
1739 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) V. 94 All such subaltern actors, as played between the acts.
1810 W. Duane Mil. Dict. at Subalterns Every officer is subaltern to the grades above him, as the captain is subaltern to the major, and so upward.
1814 W. Scott Waverley III. iv. 54 He had been long employed as a subaltern agent and spy by those in the confidence of the Chevalier. View more context for this quotation
1875 W. E. Gladstone Church of Eng. & Ritualism 111 A case in which the statute prescribed a major amount of observance, but the subaltern or executive authority was content with a minor amount.
1931 Polit. Sci. Q. 46 409 It was the king who addressed the assembled congregation, even when the document in question had been issued only by a subaltern authority.
1973 P. A. Allum Politics & Society Post-War Naples viii. 249 The professional and business classes dispose of a much stronger organisational network for defending their professional interests than the subaltern classes.
2002 Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 31 455 Spitulnik..calls for continuing analyses of power relations, global capital, and the role of subaltern/minority peoples in the emergence of new media processes and products.
c. Military. Designating a junior officer, i.e. one below the rank of captain; of or relating to such an officer. Frequently in subaltern officer, subaltern rank.
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
1611 Instr. of Marshall in W. Strachey For Colony in Virginea (1612) 48 I haue constituted subalterne officers according both to the ancient & moderne order of the wars.
1688 London Gaz. No. 2396/3 Count Strozzi..was..Shot dead..and two or three Subalterne Officers wounded.
1702 Mil. Dict. (1704) at Officer Subaltern-Officers. The Lieutenant, Ensigns, and Cornets of Horse, Foot, and Dragoons, are so call'd.
1772 T. Simes Mil. Guide Young Officers 200 When the regiment is in barracks, a Subaltern Officer is daily to visit them, the messes and regimental infirmary.
1807 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 17 222 The cries of the soldier were heard by the subaltern officer.
1849 G. White Statistics State of Georgia 508 My brother..held a subaltern rank in the expedition.
1910 J. Buchan Prester John x. 142 I might have made a good subaltern soldier.
1978 A. Powell To keep Ball Rolling II. ii. viii. 133 I had exchanged an occasional word with this quiet slightly eccentric lieutenant, like myself rather old to be of subaltern rank.
2008 Africa News (Nexis) 2 Jan. Kundi Paihama..wished good health and a new year full of prosperity to all general officers, high ranking officers, subaltern officers, sergeants, [etc.].
d. Philosophy and Theology. In Aristotelian and scholastic philosophy: designating a science which is subordinate to a higher science from which axioms can be drawn; = subalternate adj. 1b.
ΚΠ
1618 J. Selden Hist. Tithes Pref. p. xix Euery Profession takes from her to it selfe..some necessary part not elswhere to be sought for. not much otherwise then as the Subaltern sciences do from their Superiors.
1773 Ld. Monboddo Of Origin & Progress of Lang. I. i. vi. 71 It belongs only to the first philosophy..to demonstrate the principles of the subaltern sciences, which assume their principles, but do not demonstrate them.
1853 O. F. Owen in tr. Aristotle Organon I. 264 (note) The application of the principle of a superior science, to a problem belonging to a subaltern science, as music is subaltern to arithmetic.
1893 in J. H. Barrows World's Parl. Relig. I. 256 Not a subaltern science to dogmatic theology.
1969 G. G. Merino In Search Theol. Devel. 118 On the basis of Aristotelian categories, theology was classified as a ‘subaltern science’.
2002 H. Mikkeli in C. Leijenhorst et al. Dynamics Artistotelian Nat. Philos. 320 Zabarella also explicitly denies that all other sciences can possibly be said to be subaltern to metaphysics, or that medicine is subaltern to natural philosophy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > [adjective]
subaltern1579
subalternal1588
succeeding1602
consecutive1611
sequenta1616
subalternate1649
successional1685
seriatim1813
serial2006
1579 J. Harmar tr. J. Calvin Serm. X. Commandementes vii. f. 50v It behoueth therefore that God goe before, and then that the creatures followe after in their subalterne, as wee may say, that is their seuerall & sucessiue order.
1590 J. Hester tr. J. Du Chesne Sclopotarie sig. O2 Indications subalterne or successiue.
1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alphabet. Subalterne, succeeding, following by course and order.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 363 Therefore God framed the first Intelligence, and that mediating the first Heaven, and so in their subaltern order to the Tenth.
1762 J. Mills New Syst. Pract. Husbandry I. 469 The main stem, advancing higher and higher, left behind the subaltern blossom of a lower joint.
4. Scots Law. Of land, a right, etc.: granted by a superior (superior n. 1) who is in turn the vassal of another; (of a vassal) holding land from such a superior. Cf. subinfeudation n. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > tenure of property > one who has tenure > [adjective] > holding of one who is a vassal
subalterna1656
a1656 J. A. Clyde Hope's Major Practicks (1937) I. 174 The union of landis in any barrony could not be extended to ane subaltern seaseing granted be ane barron of ane annualrent furth of the barrony.
1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. i. xxi. 420 If the major part be not alienate, Subaltern Infeudations..infer not recognition, when these rights are disjunctim of parts of the Fee.
1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. i. xxi. 429 Omitted not only by the immediat Vassal, but by all subaltern Vassals.
1723 Bibl. Literaria No. vi. 17 Reliefs, Fines, Duties upon the several subaltern Manors.
a1768 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. (1773) I. ii. vii. §8. 283 Subaltern infeftments soon recovered force after the statute of Robert which abolished them.
1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 88 Suppose A to hold of the Crown blench, and that he subfeus his lands to B, to be held in feu... A's right is termed a public one; B's a base or subaltern right.
1900 Scots Law Times 10 Nov. 211/2 While the law so stood, it was frequently..convenient for a disposee to remain content with the subaltern infeftment.
1933 Encycl. Laws Scotl. XIV. 273 Superiors lower in the feudal series are..called mid-superiors or subaltern superiors.
1960 V. Gaffney Lordship of Strathavon 132 Subaltern rights over Elick and Glenconglass had early in the 18th century been conveyed to John Grant of Tomnavoulan.
Compounds
C1. Compounds of the adjective.
subaltern opposition n. Logic the relation between a universal and a particular proposition having the same subject and predicate and being of the same quality (cf. opposition n. 8).
ΚΠ
1807 R. Kirwan Logick I. 77 Of Subaltern opposition... This is improperly called an opposition, for both propositions are affirmative, or both are negative, they differ only in quantity.
1849 W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought (ed. 2) iii. §52. 211 Subaltern opposition is between any pair of affirmative or negative judgments, when the one has fewer terms distributed than the other.
1991 W. T. Parry & E. A. Hacker Aristotelian Logic ii. viii. 158 Superalternation of opposites (or subaltern opposition) is the relation of a subaltern to its superaltern.
C2. Compounds of the noun (in sense A. 2b) in the genitive.
subaltern's butter n. (also subalterns' butter) now historical the avocado (avocado n. a), formerly used as a substitute for butter; also called midshipman's butter.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > stone fruit > avocado
shell-pear1672
alligator pear1696
avocado1697
vegetable marrow1788
subaltern's butter1816
midshipman's butter1866
Holy Ghost pear1886
1816 J. Waller Treat. Incubus 105 It [sc. the avocado] has obtained amongst military men the name of subaltern's butter.
1862 W. G. Hamley Capt. Clutterbuck's Champagne 110 Subalterns' butter! yes, that was the familiar name we gave them in those days when fresh butter as a thing unknown in Jamaica.
1926 Otago Daily Times (N.Z.) 24 Mar. 4 There are great possibilities in the New Zealand market for Avocado pears, more widely known in the South Seas as ‘subaltern's butter’.
1996 M. Morton Cupboard Love 351 A hundred years earlier the name subaltern's butter had also been applied to the avocado.
subaltern's lunch n. (also subaltern's luncheon) humorous (now rare) a meal consisting of a glass of water and the act of tightening one's belt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > water > [noun] > a drink of
subaltern's lunch1897
1897 Baily's Mag. Apr. 267/1 ‘A glass of water and a pull at your belt’ was the old notion of a subaltern's lunch.
1904 A. Griffiths Fifty Years Public Service 50 The traditional ‘subaltern's luncheon’—‘a glass of water and a pull at the waistbelt’.
1996 M. Morton Cupboard Love 351 Subaltern's luncheon..A subaltern is often asked to work through the meal hour, leading to the phrase subaltern's luncheon, a meal the officer partakes of by drinking a glass of water and tightening his belt.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
subalternv.
/ˈsʌblt(ə)n/, U.S. /səˈbɔltərn/, /səˈbɑltərn/ transitive. To make subaltern; to subordinate (something) to.Now esp. in critical and cultural theory (see subaltern n. 2a).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [verb (transitive)] > make inferior or subordinate
subalterna1500
inferiorizea1834
a1500 ( Pilgrimage of Soul (Egerton) (1953) i. xxix. f. 23v Alle other wordely lawes be..subalterned [1483 Caxton subalternat] to godis lawe.
1866 Colburn's United Service Mag. Feb. 219 Captains of seamen being subalterned by the title of lieutenant.
1982 T. Bennett in M. Gurevitch et al. Culture, Society & Media xi. 287 Subalterned to the reality it mirrors, the world of signs is granted only a shadowy, twilight existence.
2003 S. Martinot Rule of Racialization iii. 172 The police have constructed themselves as the boundary between (white) corporate society and those it subalterns and constrains.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.c1475
v.a1500