suboptimumadj.n.
/ˌsʌbˈɒptᵻməm/, U.S. /ˈˌsəbˈɑptəməm/ A. adj.
Less than optimum.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective] > not the best
unprime1842
suboptimal1901
suboptimum1907
1907 Jrnl. Compar. Neurol. & Psychol. 17 160 The chemical reaction..continues to favor the formation of X, since the light is sub-optimum.
1937 Ann. Reg. 1936 59 Attention was given to the social importance of nutrition due to the realisation that sub-optimum nutrition is common and widespread.
1970 M. Roemer Fishing for Growth vi. 102 Entrants into the industry built suboptimum plants to earn profits right away.
2002 T. Clancy Red Rabbit (2003) i. 25 The liver is important, and his is probably suboptimum.
B. n.
A suboptimum condition, value, or amount.
ΚΠ
1907 R. J. Harvey Gibson tr. L. Jost Lect. on Plant Physiol. i. iii. 126 But when light is artificially increased the usual amount of carbon-dioxide would constitute a sub-optimum [Ger. mit dessen künstlicher Steigerung geriete sie aber 'ins Minimum'].
1958 Managem. Sci. 4 480 Suboptimums were computed first over nearly independent sets of vectors before the computer was turned loose on the full problem.
1988 Jrnl. Econ. Lit. 26 102 If we make evolutionary success the sole basis for social reform, we commit ourselves to all manners of suboptima.
2002 J. Dupré in M. H. V. Van Regenmortel & D. L. Hull Promises & Limits of Reductionism in Biomed. Sci. xii. 237 Once we abandon the optimum, there will always be a range of suboptima.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1907