subitaneousadj.
/ˌsʌbɪˈteɪnɪəs/, U.S. /ˌsəbəˈteɪniəs/ 1. That occurs or is manifested suddenly, spontaneously, or in haste; sudden, hasty, unexpected; (also) hastily produced or constructed; makeshift. Now rare.
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the mind > mental capacity > expectation > suddenness > [adjective]
ferlyc893
sudden1340
subitane?a1425
subite?1483
starting1545
plunging1566
abrupt1576
subitany1603
subitaneous1645
surprising1645
subitous1657
extempore1755
extemporary1761
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > acting with haste > hasty or sudden
subitane?a1425
subite?1483
subitany1603
precipitating1638
subitaneous1645
precipitous1646
precipitant1649
precipitate1658
precipitious1676
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > acting with haste > hasty or hurried > hastily produced or constructed
subitaneous1645
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > embryo development processes > [adjective] > post-embryonic developments
subitaneous1645
post-embryonic1875
post-embryonal1877
1645 J. Corbet Hist. Relation Mil. Govt. Gloucester 1 The hopes of a subitaneous service are lost and the Kingdome is made sensible, that their peace and liberty will cost much bloud.
1651 N. Biggs Matæotechnia Medicinæ Praxeωs ⁋196 The argument of curing by the subitaneous precipitancy of cold.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica ii. vii. 248 Some are Subitaneous, the Product of 24 Hours.
1751 Chambers's Cycl. (ed. 7) at Bridge The Romans had also a sort of subitaneous bridges made by the soldiers, of boats [etc.].
1779 Ann. Reg. 1778 Nat. Hist. 111/2 The rain waters, the subterraneous cavities, the absorptions, and sometimes more subitaneous agents, have made great ruins.
1822 T. Taylor tr. Apuleius Metamorphosis 304 He never either grieves or rejoices, nor wills, nor is averse to any thing subitaneous.
1892 ‘D. Donovan’ In Grip of Law 246 The subitaneous clanging of a heavy bell.
1911 R. N. Grisewood Venture xiv. 118 I will not attempt to explain this subitaneous adoration; let those who have never experienced it scoff as they may.
2000 Washington Post (Nexis) 17 Jan. c1 The Statesman's only strategy was ‘limited to making sure the door did not strike his posterior during his subitaneous egress’.
2. Zoology. Of an egg (of certain invertebrates): hatching very soon after being laid, without a period of dormancy. Also: reproducing in this manner; designating or relating to such reproduction.Cf. resting egg n. at resting adj. Compounds.
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1906 T. H. Montgomery Anal. Racial Descent in Animals iv. 119 To these two kinds [i.e. ‘winter’ and ‘summer’ eggs] Weismann applies the terms ‘latent’ and ‘subitaneous’ respectively, and the females that produce them he calls correspondingly latent and subitaneous females.
1950 Adv. Genetics 3 240 From the fertilized eggs (the ephippial eggs) there emerge, after a shorter or longer resting period, exclusively females, the eggs of which (the subitaneous eggs) develop parthenogenetically in the brood chamber of the female.
1979 Nature 30 Aug. 722/1 Both quick-hatching (subitaneous) and resting eggs are produced but neither kind was believed to be fertilised, though in Chaetonotus two types of subitaneous egg have been reported.
2004 C. B. Miller Biol. Oceanogr. viii. 176 In Acartia, individual females can switch from spawning subitaneous eggs to spawning resting eggs, and they can switch back.
Derivatives
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1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Subitaneousness,..Suddenness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1645