"subaltern" meaning in English

See subaltern in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈsʌb.əltən/ [UK], /sʌbˈɔltəɹn/ [US], /ˈsʌbəltəɹn/ [US] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav Forms: more subaltern [comparative], most subaltern [superlative]
Rhymes: -ʌbəltə(ɹ)n, -ɔltə(ɹ)n Etymology: From Middle French subalterne, from Late Latin subalternus, from Latin sub- + alternus, from alter. Etymology templates: {{der|en|frm|subalterne}} Middle French subalterne, {{der|en|la-lat|subalternus}} Late Latin subalternus, {{der|en|la|sub-}} Latin sub- Head templates: {{en-adj}} subaltern (comparative more subaltern, superlative most subaltern)
  1. Of a lower rank or position; inferior or secondary; especially (military) ranking as a junior officer, below the rank of captain. Synonyms: subordinate Translations (of a lower rank of position): nuorempi (Finnish), subalterne [feminine, masculine] (French), Subaltern [masculine] (German), Subalternoffizier [masculine] (German), ста́рший лейтена́нт (stáršij lejtenánt) [masculine] (Russian), subalterno (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-subaltern-en-adj-QXagZ3Xd Categories (other): Military ranks Disambiguation of 'of a lower rank of position': 100 0
  2. (logic) Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition. Translations (asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition): alisteinen (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-subaltern-en-adj-nJZgpqmj Categories (other): Logic Topics: human-sciences, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences Disambiguation of 'asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition': 2 98
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: subaltern studies

Noun

IPA: /ˈsʌb.əltən/ [UK], /sʌbˈɔltəɹn/ [US], /ˈsʌbəltəɹn/ [US] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav Forms: subalterns [plural]
Rhymes: -ʌbəltə(ɹ)n, -ɔltə(ɹ)n Etymology: From Middle French subalterne, from Late Latin subalternus, from Latin sub- + alternus, from alter. Etymology templates: {{der|en|frm|subalterne}} Middle French subalterne, {{der|en|la-lat|subalternus}} Late Latin subalternus, {{der|en|la|sub-}} Latin sub- Head templates: {{en-noun}} subaltern (plural subalterns)
  1. A subordinate. Translations (subordinate): subalterno [masculine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-subaltern-en-noun-bEh3O8ED Disambiguation of 'subordinate': 90 2 5 3
  2. (British, military) A commissioned officer having a rank below that of captain; a lieutenant or second lieutenant. Tags: British Translations (commissioned officer): младши офицер (mladši oficer) (Bulgarian), nuorempi upseeri (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-subaltern-en-noun-wdaRGfRL Categories (other): British English, Military, English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 4 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Manx translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Military ranks Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 18 6 5 43 8 19 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 9 3 6 59 5 18 Disambiguation of Pages with 4 entries: 0 7 16 5 7 43 6 16 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 0 4 18 3 4 51 3 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 15 10 10 39 9 18 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 12 9 10 40 9 19 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 12 9 11 41 10 17 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 11 8 9 47 8 17 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 12 11 11 32 15 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 13 9 8 45 11 14 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 13 11 11 37 8 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Manx translations: 13 9 11 42 9 16 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 11 7 8 46 9 20 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 15 8 8 42 10 17 Disambiguation of Military ranks: 32 2 3 52 3 8 Topics: government, military, politics, war Disambiguation of 'commissioned officer': 2 85 3 9
  3. (logic) A subaltern proposition; a proposition implied by a universal proposition. Translations (proposition implied by a universal proposition): johtopäätös (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-subaltern-en-noun-nnvdwJjO Categories (other): Logic Topics: human-sciences, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences Disambiguation of 'proposition implied by a universal proposition': 5 3 89 3
  4. (social sciences, literary theory) A member of a group that is socially, politically and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland. Translations (member of a group outside a hegemonic power structure): siirtomaa-alamainen (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-subaltern-en-noun-QI6Hl3aY Categories (other): Social sciences Topics: human-sciences, sciences, social-science, social-sciences Disambiguation of 'member of a group outside a hegemonic power structure': 3 13 3 81
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: subalternism Coordinate_terms: lieutenant

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

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          "ref": "2009 January 27, Agnes Poirier, “The fall of Rachida Dati reflects badly on the French president”, in The Guardian:",
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          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fi",
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          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "ru",
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            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ста́рший лейтена́нт"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
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        [
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        [
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          "_dis1": "2 85 3 9",
          "code": "bg",
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          "_dis1": "2 85 3 9",
          "code": "fi",
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        }
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      ],
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        "(logic) A subaltern proposition; a proposition implied by a universal proposition."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "logic",
        "mathematics",
        "philosophy",
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          "_dis1": "5 3 89 3",
          "code": "fi",
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          "text": "Young refers sardonically to the existence of reams of postcolonial \"theory\", and promises to give us \"postcolonialism from below, which is what and where it should rightly be, given that it elaborates a politics of ‘the subaltern’, that is, subordinated classes and peoples\".",
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          "text": "In Ghosh's novel, a canonical western scientist is pitted against a counterscientific group of native folk-medicine practitioners led by Mangala, a subaltern in every conceivable meaning of the term.",
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        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
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      ],
      "id": "en-subaltern-en-noun-QI6Hl3aY",
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        [
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          "geographically"
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        [
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        ],
        [
          "power",
          "power"
        ],
        [
          "structure",
          "structure"
        ],
        [
          "colony",
          "colony"
        ],
        [
          "colonial",
          "colonial"
        ],
        [
          "homeland",
          "homeland"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "literary theory",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(social sciences, literary theory) A member of a group that is socially, politically and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "sciences",
        "social-science",
        "social-sciences"
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        {
          "_dis1": "3 13 3 81",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "member of a group outside a hegemonic power structure",
          "word": "siirtomaa-alamainen"
        }
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    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ʌbəltə(ɹ)n"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɔltə(ɹ)n"
    }
  ],
  "word": "subaltern"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Late Latin",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Middle French",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɔltə(ɹ)n",
    "Rhymes:English/ɔltə(ɹ)n/2 syllables",
    "Rhymes:English/ʌbəltə(ɹ)n",
    "Rhymes:English/ʌbəltə(ɹ)n/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Manx translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "en:Military ranks"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "subaltern studies"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "subalterne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French subalterne",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "subalternus"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin subalternus",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "sub-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin sub-",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle French subalterne, from Late Latin subalternus, from Latin sub- + alternus, from alter.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more subaltern",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most subaltern",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "subaltern (comparative more subaltern, superlative most subaltern)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "en:Military ranks"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              2,
              11
            ]
          ],
          "text": "a subaltern officer",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              111,
              120
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2009 January 27, Agnes Poirier, “The fall of Rachida Dati reflects badly on the French president”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Two weeks after giving birth[…] she [Rachida Dati] was removed and offered no consolation prize other than the subaltern position of No 2 on the UMP's list for the next European elections.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              40,
              49
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2013, Isher-Paul Sahni, “More than Horseplay”, in Studies in Popular Culture, volume 35, page 81:",
          "text": "Celebrating the subversive practices of subaltern groups",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of a lower rank or position; inferior or secondary; especially (military) ranking as a junior officer, below the rank of captain."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "inferior",
          "inferior"
        ],
        [
          "secondary",
          "secondary"
        ],
        [
          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "junior",
          "junior"
        ],
        [
          "captain",
          "captain"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "subordinate"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Logic"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "logic",
          "logic"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(logic) Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "logic",
        "mathematics",
        "philosophy",
        "sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsʌb.əltən/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/sʌbˈɔltəɹn/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsʌbəltəɹn/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/91/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/91/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ʌbəltə(ɹ)n"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɔltə(ɹ)n"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "of a lower rank of position",
      "word": "nuorempi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "of a lower rank of position",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "subalterne"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "of a lower rank of position",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Subaltern"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "of a lower rank of position",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Subalternoffizier"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "stáršij lejtenánt",
      "sense": "of a lower rank of position",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ста́рший лейтена́нт"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "of a lower rank of position",
      "word": "subalterno"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition",
      "word": "alisteinen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "subaltern"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Late Latin",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Middle French",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 4 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɔltə(ɹ)n",
    "Rhymes:English/ɔltə(ɹ)n/2 syllables",
    "Rhymes:English/ʌbəltə(ɹ)n",
    "Rhymes:English/ʌbəltə(ɹ)n/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Manx translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "en:Military ranks"
  ],
  "coordinate_terms": [
    {
      "word": "lieutenant"
    }
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "subalternism"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "subalterne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French subalterne",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "subalternus"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin subalternus",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "sub-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin sub-",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle French subalterne, from Late Latin subalternus, from Latin sub- + alternus, from alter.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "subalterns",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "subaltern (plural subalterns)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A subordinate."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "subordinate",
          "subordinate#Noun"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Military"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              160,
              169
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:",
          "text": "She was an extraordinarily beautiful girl, Margaret Devereux ; and made all the men frantic by running away with a penniless young fellow ; a mere nobody sir a subaltern in a foot regiment, or something of that kind.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              5,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003 February 20, Ciar Byrne, “Colditz: remade with love”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "As a subaltern of 24, Neave was captured in the defence of Calais in May 1940.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A commissioned officer having a rank below that of captain; a lieutenant or second lieutenant."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "commissioned",
          "commissioned"
        ],
        [
          "officer",
          "officer"
        ],
        [
          "rank",
          "rank"
        ],
        [
          "captain",
          "captain"
        ],
        [
          "lieutenant",
          "lieutenant"
        ],
        [
          "second lieutenant",
          "second lieutenant"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, military) A commissioned officer having a rank below that of captain; a lieutenant or second lieutenant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "superaltern"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "en:Logic"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A subaltern proposition; a proposition implied by a universal proposition."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "logic",
          "logic"
        ],
        [
          "proposition",
          "proposition"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(logic) A subaltern proposition; a proposition implied by a universal proposition."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "logic",
        "mathematics",
        "philosophy",
        "sciences"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "en:Social sciences"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              221,
              230
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003 August 9, Steven Poole, “Postcolonialism and all that jazz”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Young refers sardonically to the existence of reams of postcolonial \"theory\", and promises to give us \"postcolonialism from below, which is what and where it should rightly be, given that it elaborates a politics of ‘the subaltern’, that is, subordinated classes and peoples\".",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              148,
              157
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2012, Aparajita De, Amrita Ghosh, Ujjwal Jana, Subaltern Vision: A Study in Postcolonial Indian English Text, page 109:",
          "text": "In Ghosh's novel, a canonical western scientist is pitted against a counterscientific group of native folk-medicine practitioners led by Mangala, a subaltern in every conceivable meaning of the term.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A member of a group that is socially, politically and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "social science",
          "social science"
        ],
        [
          "socially",
          "socially"
        ],
        [
          "politically",
          "politically"
        ],
        [
          "geographically",
          "geographically"
        ],
        [
          "hegemonic",
          "hegemonic"
        ],
        [
          "power",
          "power"
        ],
        [
          "structure",
          "structure"
        ],
        [
          "colony",
          "colony"
        ],
        [
          "colonial",
          "colonial"
        ],
        [
          "homeland",
          "homeland"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "literary theory",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(social sciences, literary theory) A member of a group that is socially, politically and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "sciences",
        "social-science",
        "social-sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsʌb.əltən/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/sʌbˈɔltəɹn/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈsʌbəltəɹn/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/91/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/91/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-subaltern.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ʌbəltə(ɹ)n"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɔltə(ɹ)n"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "subordinate",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "subalterno"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "mladši oficer",
      "sense": "commissioned officer",
      "word": "младши офицер"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "commissioned officer",
      "word": "nuorempi upseeri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "proposition implied by a universal proposition",
      "word": "johtopäätös"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "member of a group outside a hegemonic power structure",
      "word": "siirtomaa-alamainen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "subaltern"
}

Download raw JSONL data for subaltern meaning in English (11.0kB)

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  "msg": "skipping string in the middle of translations: </table></div></div>\n\n",
  "path": [
    "subaltern"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "subaltern",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (96027d6 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.