Definition of subaltern Subaltern

sub•al•tern

We found 12 definitions of subaltern from 6 different sources.

What does subaltern mean?

Noun Plural: subalterns
subaltern - a British commissioned army officer below the rank of captain
		commissioned military officer a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marine Corps
		armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"

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subaltern (Noun)
A subordinate.
subaltern (Noun)
A commissioned officer having a rank below that of captain; a lieutenant or second lieutenant .
subaltern (Noun)
A subaltern proposition; a proposition implied by a universal proposition. For example, some crows are black is a subaltern of all crows are black.
subaltern (Adjective)
Of a lower rank or position; inferior or secondary.

subaltern (a.)
Ranked or ranged below; subordinate; inferior; specifically (Mil.), ranking as a junior officer; being below the rank of captain; as, a subaltern officer.
subaltern (a.)
Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition.
subaltern (n.)
A person holding a subordinate position; specifically, a commissioned military officer below the rank of captain.
subaltern (n.)
A subaltern proposition.

subaltern
sub′al-tėrn, or sub-al′tėrn, adj. inferior: subordinate.—n. a subordinate: an officer in the army under the rank of captain: (logic) a specific class as included under a general one, or a particular statement as deducible from a universal one.—adjs. Subalter′nant, universal as opposed to particular; Subalter′nate, succeeding by turns: subordinate.—n. a particular proposition or a species, as opposed to a universal proposition or a genus.—n. Subalternā′tion. [Fr.,—Low L. subalternus—L. sub, under, alternus, one after the other, alter, the other.]

subaltern
A commissioned officer below the rank of captain. But strictly speaking every officer is a subaltern to the grades above him, as the captain is subaltern to the major, and so upward.