Meanings
plural substractions
- countableuncountableobsolete or non-native speakers' EnglishSubtraction.
[in title]
1999, A. Quinquis, C. Ioana, H. Thomas, “Noise substraction for improving the localisation of an underwater mobile”, in Oceans '99: Riding the Crest into the 21st Century. IEEE Conference Proceedings1 more example
The plasterer doth make his figures by addition, and the carver by substraction.
1624, Henry Wotton, The Elements of Architecture, […], London: […] Iohn Bill, →OCLC
Origin
- Old Frenchsubstraction
- Middle Frenchsubstraction
- Englishsubstraction
From Middle French substraction (compare modern French soustraction), from Old French substraction, from Medieval Latin substractio, derived from Late Latin substractus. Ultimately from Latin subtraho (“to pull out from under; to remove, to subtract”). The use by non-native speakers arises by analogy with words such as French soustraction and Spanish sustracción.
More words from Middle French, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
substraction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substraction
“substraction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substraction. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “substraction,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substraction.
Source: substraction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.