Word Origin
the underlying or implicit meaning, as of a literary work. Show More
Origin of subtext 1945–50; translation of
Russian podtékst; see
sub- ,
text Related forms sub·tex·tu·al , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for subtextual an underlying theme in a piece of writing a message which is not stated directly but can be inferred Show More
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
Word Origin and History for subtextual n. "underlying theme of a work of literature, 1950, from sub - + text . Originally a term in Konstantin Stanislavsky's theory of acting. Earlier it was used in a literally sense of "text appearing below other text on a page" (1726).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
