What does subject mean?
Definitions for subject
ˈsʌb dʒɪkt; səbˈdʒɛktsub·ject
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word subject.
Princeton's WordNet
subject, topic, themenoun
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
"he didn't want to discuss that subject"; "it was a very sensitive topic"; "his letters were always on the theme of love"
subject, content, depicted objectnoun
something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation
"a moving picture of a train is more dramatic than a still picture of the same subject"
discipline, subject, subject area, subject field, field, field of study, study, bailiwicknoun
a branch of knowledge
"in what discipline is his doctorate?"; "teachers should be well trained in their subject"; "anthropology is the study of human beings"
topic, subject, issue, matternoun
some situation or event that is thought about
"he kept drifting off the topic"; "he had been thinking about the subject for several years"; "it is a matter for the police"
subjectnoun
(grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated
subject, case, guinea pignoun
a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation
"the subjects for this investigation were selected randomly"; "the cases that we studied were drawn from two different communities"
national, subjectnoun
a person who owes allegiance to that nation
"a monarch has a duty to his subjects"
subjectadjective
(logic) the first term of a proposition
capable, open, subjectadjective
possibly accepting or permitting
"a passage capable of misinterpretation"; "open to interpretation"; "an issue open to question"; "the time is fixed by the director and players and therefore subject to much variation"
subject, dependentadjective
being under the power or sovereignty of another or others
"subject peoples"; "a dependent prince"
subjectverb
likely to be affected by something
"the bond is subject to taxation"; "he is subject to fits of depression"
subjectverb
cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to
"He subjected me to his awful poetry"; "The sergeant subjected the new recruits to many drills"; "People in Chernobyl were subjected to radiation"
subjectverb
make accountable for
"He did not want to subject himself to the judgments of his superiors"
subjugate, subjectverb
make subservient; force to submit or subdue
submit, subjectverb
refer for judgment or consideration
"The lawyers submitted the material to the court"
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Subjectadjective
Etymology: subjectus, Latin.
Th’ eastern tower,
Whose height commands, as subject, all the vale
To see the fight. William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida.Esau was never subject to Jacob, but founded a distinct people and government, and was himself prince over them. John Locke.
Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds;
And he the noble image of my youth
Is overspread with them. William Shakespeare.All human things are subject to decay,
And when fate summons, monarchs must obey. Dryden.I enter into the subject matter of my discourse. Dryden.
Subjectnoun
Etymology: sujet, French.
Every subject’s duty is the king’s,
But every subject’s soul is his own. William Shakespeare, Henry V.Never subject long’d to be a king,
As I do long and wish to be a subject. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.The subject must obey his prince, because God commands it, human laws require it. Jonathan Swift.
Those I call subjects which are governed by the ordinary laws and magistrates of the sovereign. Davies.
Were subjects so but only by their choice,
And not from birth did forc’d dominion take,
Our prince alone would have the publick voice. Dryden.Now spurs the lated traveller apace,
To gain the timely inn, and near approaches
The subject of our watch. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.This subject for heroick song pleas’d me. John Milton.
Here he would have us fix our thoughts; nor are they too dry a subject for our contemplation. Decay of Piety.
I will not venture on so nice a subject with my severer style. More.
Make choice of a subject beautiful and noble, which being capable of all the graces that colours, and elegance of design can give, shall afford a perfect art, an ample field of matter wherein to expatiate. Dryden.
The subject of a proposition is that concerning which any thing is affirmed or denied. Isaac Watts, Logick.
My real design is, that of publishing your praises to the world; not upon the subject of your noble birth. Jonathan Swift.
Anger is certainly a kind of baseness, as it appears well in the weakness of those subjects in whom it reigns, children, women, old folks, sick folks. Francis Bacon.
To SUBJECTverb
Etymology: subjectus, Latin.
The angel led them direct, and down the cliff as fast
To the subjected plain. John Milton.The medal bears each form and name:
In one short view, subjected to our eye,
Gods, emp’rors, heroes, sages, beauties lie. Alexander Pope.Think not, young warriors, your diminish’d name
Shall lose of lustre, by subjecting rage
To the cool dictates of experienc’d age. Dryden.I live on bread like you, feel want like you,
Taste grief, need friends, like you. subjected thus,
How can you say to me, I am a king? William Shakespeare, Rich. II.I see thee, in that fatal hour,
Subjected to the victor’s cruel pow’r,
Led hence a slave. Dryden.The blind will always be led by those that see, or fall into the ditch: and he is the most subjected, the most enslaved, who is so in his understanding. John Locke.
If the vessels yield, it subjects the person to all the inconveniences of an erroneous circulation. Arbuthnot.
God is not bound to subject his ways of operation to the scrutiny of our thoughts, and confine himself to do nothing but what we must comprehend. John Locke.
Subjected to his service angel-wings. John Milton.
ChatGPT
subject
A subject generally refers to a person, object, concept, or topic that is being discussed, studied, or analyzed in a discourse, conversation, or any form of communication. It can also refer to the main theme or focus of a sentence, story, research, or any form of written or verbal expression.
Webster Dictionary
Subjectadjective
placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation
Subjectadjective
placed under the power of another; specifically (International Law), owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state; as, Jamaica is subject to Great Britain
Subjectadjective
exposed; liable; prone; disposed; as, a country subject to extreme heat; men subject to temptation
Subjectadjective
obedient; submissive
Subjectadjective
that which is placed under the authority, dominion, control, or influence of something else
Subjectadjective
specifically: One who is under the authority of a ruler and is governed by his laws; one who owes allegiance to a sovereign or a sovereign state; as, a subject of Queen Victoria; a British subject; a subject of the United States
Subjectadjective
that which is subjected, or submitted to, any physical operation or process; specifically (Anat.), a dead body used for the purpose of dissection
Subjectadjective
that which is brought under thought or examination; that which is taken up for discussion, or concerning which anything is said or done
Subjectadjective
the person who is treated of; the hero of a piece; the chief character
Subjectadjective
that of which anything is affirmed or predicated; the theme of a proposition or discourse; that which is spoken of; as, the nominative case is the subject of the verb
Subjectadjective
that in which any quality, attribute, or relation, whether spiritual or material, inheres, or to which any of these appertain; substance; substratum
Subjectadjective
hence, that substance or being which is conscious of its own operations; the mind; the thinking agent or principal; the ego. Cf. Object, n., 2
Subjectnoun
the principal theme, or leading thought or phrase, on which a composition or a movement is based
Subjectnoun
the incident, scene, figure, group, etc., which it is the aim of the artist to represent
Subjectverb
to bring under control, power, or dominion; to make subject; to subordinate; to subdue
Subjectverb
to expose; to make obnoxious or liable; as, credulity subjects a person to impositions
Subjectverb
to submit; to make accountable
Subjectverb
to make subservient
Subjectverb
to cause to undergo; as, to subject a substance to a white heat; to subject a person to a rigid test
Etymology: [From L. subjectus, through an old form of F. sujet. See Subject, a.]
Wikidata
Subject
The subject is, according to a tradition that can be traced back to Aristotle, one of the two main constituents of a clause, the other constituent being the predicate, whereby the predicate says something about the subject. According to a tradition associated with predicate logic and dependency grammars, the subject is the most prominent overt argument of the predicate. By this position all languages with arguments have subjects, though there is no way to define this consistently for all languages. From a functional perspective, a subject is a phrase that conflates nominative case with the topic. Many languages do not do this, and so do not have subjects. All of these positions see the subject in English determining person and number agreement on the finite verb, as exemplified by the difference in verb forms between he eats and they eat. The stereotypical subject immediately precedes the finite verb in declarative sentences in English and represents an agent or a theme. The subject is often a multi-word constituent and should be distinguished from parts of speech, which, roughly, classify words within constituents.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Subject
sub′jekt, adj. under the power of another: liable, prone, disposed: exposed: subordinate, tributary: subservient.—n. one under the power of another: one under allegiance to a sovereign: that on which any operation is performed: that which is treated or handled: (anat.) a dead body for dissection: a person supposed to be peculiarly sensitive to hypnotic influence: that which it is the object of the artist to express, the scheme or idea of a work of art: a picture representing action and incident: that of which anything is said or of which a discourse treats, bringing many things under a common head: the mind, regarded as the thinking power, in contrast with the object, that about which it thinks: topic: matter, materials: the general plan of any work of art.—v.t. Subject′, to throw or bring under: to bring under the power of: to make subordinate or subservient: to subdue: to enslave: to expose or make liable to: to cause to undergo.—n. Subjec′tion, the act of subjecting or subduing: the state of being subject to another.—adj. Subject′ive, relating to the subject: derived from one's own consciousness: denoting those states of thought or feeling of which the mind is the conscious subject—opp. to Objective.—adv. Subject′ively.—n. Subject′iveness.—v.t. Subject′ivise.—ns. Subject′ivism, a philosophical doctrine which refers all knowledge to, and founds it upon, subjective states; Subject′ivist, one who holds to subjectivism.—adj. Subjectivist′ic.—adv. Subjectivist′ically.—ns. Subjectiv′ity, state of being subjective: that which is treated subjectively; Sub′ject-matter, a tautological compound for subject, theme, topic; Sub′ject-ob′ject, the immediate object of cognition, or the thought itself; Sub′jectship, the state of being subject. [Fr. sujet—L. subjectus—sub, under, jacĕre, to throw.]
Editors Contribution
subject
A defined or specific type of education or knowledge.
The subject was geography and we are delighted to know what we do.
Submitted by MaryC on February 23, 2020
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
SUBJECT
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Subject is ranked #116201 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Subject surname appeared 150 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Subject.
72.6% or 109 total occurrences were White.
14.6% or 22 total occurrences were Black.
4.6% or 7 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
4% or 6 total occurrences were Asian.
4% or 6 total occurrences were of two or more races.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'subject' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #507
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'subject' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1114
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'subject' in Nouns Frequency: #113
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'subject' in Verbs Frequency: #851
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- 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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of subject in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of subject in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Examples of subject in a Sentence
I know that today's era is not of war and we have talked to you many times over the phone on the subject that democracy and diplomacy and dialogue are all these things that touch the world.
We are looking for one subject, we are working closely with our state and local partners and will provide additional updates when available.
Every subject is new, is a new challenge because each body is different.
Cop shooting cases are always highly controversial and there is an awareness that the omission of any evidence may subject the prosecutor to future public criticism by either the family of the victim or by the police officers involved.
Public Safety Director Steven McCraw:
The on-scene commander considered a barricaded subject and that there was time and there were no children at risk. Obviously, you know, based on the information we have, there were children in that classroom that were at risk, and it was, in fact, still an active shooter situation and not a barricaded subject.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for subject
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- رعية, فَاعِل, مَوْضُوع, دورةArabic
- фәнBashkir
- дзе́йнікBelarusian
- подло́г, поданикBulgarian
- súbdit, matèria, subjecte, sotmetreCatalan, Valencian
- poddaný, podmět, předmětCzech
- subjekt, fag, emne, grundled, tema, borger, udsætteDanish
- Fach, Lehrfach, Gegenstand, Untertan, Betreff, Sache, Untertanin, Sujet, Schulfach, Subjekt, Unterrichtsfach, Studienfach, Thema, unterwerfenGerman
- αντικείμενο, υποτελής, προκείμενο, υποκείμενο, θέμα, υπήκοος, υπεξούσιος, υποκείμενος, υποβάλλωGreek
- studobjekto, subulo, subjekto, lernobjekto, temoEsperanto
- tema, curso, ramo, materia, súbdito, sujeto, asignatura, someterSpanish
- teema, aine, alam, alusEstonian
- موضوع, سوژهPersian
- aihe, aihealue, alamainen, subjekti, teema, aine, ala, pakottaa, painostaa, alistaaFinnish
- discipline, matière, sujet, soumettreFrench
- cuir, cuir duine faoi phróiseasIrish
- cùisear, cuspairScottish Gaelic
- suxeito, materia, someterGalician
- נוֹשֵׂא, נתיןHebrew
- téma, alany, tárgy, alattvalóHungarian
- ենթակաArmenian
- themaInterlingua
- subyekIndonesian
- yrkisefni, grein, efni, viðfangsefni, þegn, umræðuefni, námsgrein, frumlag, umtalsefni, fag, ná, valdi, yfirIcelandic
- sottomesso, soggetto, disciplina, assoggettato, corso, materia, suddito, sottomettere, assoggettareItalian
- 科目, 学科, 主語, 主題Japanese
- ប្រជានុរាស្ត្រ, ប្រធានវិស័យ, ប្រធានKhmer
- 신하, 백성, 주어, 주제, 학과, 과목Korean
- بابهت, بارهKurdish
- tāhuhu, tāhūMāori
- те́ма, пре́дмет, поданик, по́дмет, предмет, изложува, подложуваMacedonian
- onderdaan, onderwerp, vak, onderdane, vakgebied, onderwerpenDutch
- podmiot, poddany, poddana, przedmiot, tematPolish
- sujeito, matéria, súdito, disciplina, submeterPortuguese
- temaRomansh
- subiect, materie, temă, disciplinăRomanian
- по́дданный, предме́т, те́ма, подлежа́щее, субъе́кт, подве́ргнуть, подве́рженный, подверга́тьRussian
- विषयSanskrit
- пре́дмет, sùbjekt, prédmet, pódmet, по́дмет, су̀бјектSerbo-Croatian
- podmetSlovak
- osebekSlovene
- subjekt, ämne, föremål, utsättaSwedish
- somo, raiaSwahili
- పాఠ్యాంశము, కర్త, విషయముTelugu
- konu, ders, dal, özne, alanTurkish
- пі́дметUkrainian
- ﺭﻋﺎﻳﺎUrdu
- chủ đề, chủ ngữVietnamese
- reigäb, yegäd, jireigäb, hireigäb, subyetVolapük
- inhloko, isifundo, umenzi, isihlokoZulu
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"subject." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/subject>.
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