Submarine

How to spell submarine

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce submarine

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does submarine mean?

1. nounA warship or vessel designed to operate underwater for extended periods.
2. adjectiveExisting, occurring, or used beneath the surface of the sea.
3. nounA long sandwich made from a split bread roll filled with meats, cheese, and salad.

Submarine in a sentence

• noun

  The navy launched a new submarine from the dock yesterday.

• adjective

  The submarine cable carries internet traffic across the ocean floor.

• noun

  She ordered a turkey submarine with extra pickles for lunch.

• noun

  The crew of the submarine stayed submerged for several weeks.

• adjective

  Engineers mapped the submarine canyon during the survey.

• noun

  The deli is famous for its foot-long submarine packed with cold cuts.

Where does submarine come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is a transparent compound built from two Latin pieces: the prefix sub-, meaning 'under' or 'beneath', and marinus, meaning 'of the sea', which itself derives from mare, the ordinary Latin word for 'sea'. As an adjective meaning 'situated or living under the surface of the sea', submarine appears in English from the early 1600s, long before the modern vessel existed. The noun for the underwater warship grew naturally out of that adjective in the nineteenth century, when 'submarine boat' was shortened simply to 'submarine'. The same mare root sits inside the everyday words 'marine', 'maritime', and 'marina', which is a useful reminder that the middle of the word is spelled with the sea word 'marine' rather than anything phonetic. Because the unstressed first syllable can sound like 'sob', writers sometimes hesitate, but holding on to the clear parts sub plus marine keeps the spelling secure.

How the word is built

• sub- (under)
• marin (of the sea, from Latin mare 'sea')
• -e