subject

pronunciation

How to pronounce subject in British English: UK [ˈsʌbdʒɪkt , səbˈdʒekt] word uk audio image

How to pronounce subject in American English: US [ˈsʌbdʒɪkt , səbˈdʒekt] word us audio image

Noun:

the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
some situation or event that is thought about
a branch of knowledge
something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation
a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation
a person who owes allegiance to that nation
(grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated
(logic) the first term of a proposition
Verb:

cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to
make accountable for
make subservient; force to submit or subdue
refer for judgment or consideration
Adjective:

not exempt from tax
possibly accepting or permitting
being under the power or sovereignty of another or others

Word Origin

subject: subject: [14] To subject something is etymologically to ‘throw it under’. The verb comes via Old French subjecter from Latin sujectāre, which was formed from subjectus, the past participle of Latin subicere ‘bring down’. This in turn was a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘under’ and jacere ‘throw’ (source also of English abject [15], adjacent, adjective, conjecture, dejected [15], inject [17], jet, jettison, jetty, reject [15], etc).The noun subject, which also came from Latin subjectus, originally denoted a person ‘subjected’ to the control of another (as in ‘the Queen’s subjects’). The most salient modern sense, ‘topic’, comes ultimately from the notion of ‘that which is operated on by something else’.=> abject, adjacent, adjective, conjecture, dejected, inject, jet, jettison, jetty, object, reject

subject (n.): early 14c., "person under control or dominion of another," specifically a government or ruler, from Old French sogit, suget, subget "a subject person or thing" (12c., Modern French sujet), from noun use of Latin subiectus "lying under, below, near bordering on," figuratively "subjected, subdued," past participle of subicere, subiicere "to place under, throw under, bind under; to make subject, subordinate," from sub "under" (see sub-) + combining form of iacere "to throw" (see jet (v.)). In 14c., sugges, sogetis, subgit, sugette; form re-Latinized in English 16c. Meaning "person or thing regarded as recipient of action, one that may be acted upon" is recorded from 1590s. Grammatical sense is recorded from 1630s, from Latin subjectum "grammatical subject," noun use of the neuter of the Latin past participle. Likewise some restricted uses in logic and philosophy are borrowed directly from Latin subjectum as "foundation or subject of a proposition," a loan-translation of Aristotle's to hypokeimenon. Meaning "subject matter of an art or science" is attested from 1540s, probably short for subject matter (late 14c.), which is from Medieval Latin subjecta materia, a loan translation of Greek hypokeimene hyle (Aristotle), literally "that which lies beneath."

subject (v.): late 14c., "to make (a person or nation) subject to another by force," also "to render submissive or dependent," from Medieval Latin subiectare "place beneath," frequentative of Latin subicere "to make subject, subordinate" (see subject (n.)). Meaning "to lay open or expose to (some force or occurrence)" is recorded from early 15c. (implied in subjected). Related: Subjecting.

subject (adj.): early 14c., from Old French suget, subject (Modern French sujet), from Latin subiectus (see subject (n.)).