Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “subtext” come from?

Subtext comes from Latin sub meaning under combined with Latin texere meaning to weave, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European teḱ-.

subtext (English): The implicit meaning of a text, often a literary...

Definitions

  1. The implicit meaning of a text, often a literary...

Ancestry of “subtext”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtextA writing consisting of multiple glyphs,...
2Middle Englishtext—
3Old Frenchtextetext
4Medieval Latintextusthe Scriptures, text, treatise; text
5Latintextuswoven, having been woven; texture, structure;...
6Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
7Proto-Italic-tus—
8Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “subtext”

  • subtextless
  • סאבטקסט
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →