subjecthood

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noun

The condition or state of being a subject.

“These gendered constructions of subjecthood are explored in more detail in Chapter two of this book.”

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Meanings

nounsubjecthood (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe condition or state of being a subject.

    These gendered constructions of subjecthood are explored in more detail in Chapter two of this book.

  2. uncountablehuman sciencesThe condition or state of a word or expression, such as a noun phrase, being the subject of a sentence.

    We are especially concerned here with the question of whether certain kinds of properties associated with subjecthood are acquired prior to other kinds of properties.

    1980 December, Peter Cole, Wayne Harbert, Gabriella Hermon, S. N. Sridhar, “The Acquisition of Subjecthood”, in Language, volume 56, number 4, pages 719–743
    1 more example

    One of the best-known examples of this method of argumentation applied to problems of universal grammar is the analysis of ergativity and subjecthood in Anderson (1976), a paper notable for its attention to data from a large number of languages and its continuing importance.

    1991, William Croft, “Syntactic Methodology and Universal Grammar”, in Syntactic Categories and Grammatical Relations, →ISBN, page 11
  3. uncountablepolitical scienceThe condition or state of a person being a subject of a nation or a monarch.

    But that should not be confused or conflated with citizenship, for, according to Jebb, "citizenship includes subjecthood, but subjecthood does not include citizenship."

    2010, Sukanya Banerjee, “Introduction”, in Becoming Imperial Citizens: Indians in the Late-Victorian Empire, →ISBN, page 25
    1 more example

    Subjecthood emphasizes obedience. Citizenship, on the other hand, recognizes moral obligations to other members of the community and emphasizes responsiveness and participation.

    1998, Christopher Vincenzi, “From Subjecthood to Citizenship”, in Crown Powers, Subjects and Citizens, →ISBN, page 301

Origin

From subject + -hood.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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