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subalternate

[ suhb-awl-ter-nit, -al- ]
/ sʌbˈɔl tər nɪt, -ˈæl- /
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adjective
Botany. placed singly along an axis, but tending to become grouped oppositely.
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Origin of subalternate

1400–50; late Middle English <Medieval Latin subalternātus (past participle of subalternāre to subordinate), equivalent to subaltern(us) subaltern + -ātus-ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM subalternate

sub·al·ter·na·tion [suhb-awl-ter-ney-shuhn, -al-], /sʌbˌɔl tərˈneɪ ʃən, -ˌæl-/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for subalternate

subalternate
/ (sʌbˈɔːltənɪt) /

adjective
(of leaves) having an arrangement intermediate between alternate and opposite
following in turn
of lesser quality or status

Derived forms of subalternate

subalternation (sʌbˌɔːltəˈneɪʃən), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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