subdominant

S1U1B3D2O1M3I1N1A1N1T1

noun

The fourth tone of a scale.

OriginEnglish dominant ← Middle French dominant ← Latin sub- →
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Meanings

adjective
    nounsubdominant (plural subdominants)

    plural subdominants

    1. entertainmentThe fourth tone of a scale.
    2. entertainmentThe triad built on the subdominant tone.

    Origin

    1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
    2. Proto-Italic*supo
    3. Latinsub
    4. Latinsub-
    5. Englishsub-
    6. Middle Frenchdominant
    7. Englishdominant
    8. Englishsubdominant

    From sub- + dominant.

    Full word history & related roots →

    Translations

    Chinese Mandarin 下屬音 /下属音
    • 下屬音 /下属音 (xiàshǔyīn)fourth tone
    Finnish aladominantti, subdominantti
    • aladominanttifourth tone
    • subdominanttifourth tone
    Irish focheannasach
    • focheannasachfourth tone
    Italian sottodominante
    • sottodominantefourth tone
    Polish subdominanta
    • subdominantafourth tone
    Romanian subdominantă
    • subdominantăfourth tone
    Russian субдомина́нта
    • субдомина́нта (subdominánta)fourth tone
    Spanish subdominante
    • subdominantefourth tone
    Cite this entry
    APA

    subdominant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subdominant

    MLA

    “subdominant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subdominant. Accessed November 3, 2026.

    Chicago

    WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subdominant,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subdominant.

    Source: subdominant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.