Sub-

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The English prefix sub- first appeared in the Middle English period and seems to have been borrowed directly from Latin, although it previously existed in words borrowed from Old French. In Latin it was both a prefix and a preposition and they both had meanings (that survive in English) ranging from

• 1. "under, beneath" (examples: subterranean, submarine)
• 2. "subsidiary, secondary" (example: subplot)
• 3. "almost, nearly" (example: subhuman)

[edit] Forms

• Its variant forms are: (combination with 's' involves elision and the rest involve assimilation)
• sub + c = suc- (example succession)
• sub + f = suf- (example suffer)
• sub + g = sug- (example suggestion)
• sub + p = sup- (example support)
• sub + r = sur- (example resurrection)
• sub + s = su- (example suspect)