Subsection

How to spell subsection

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce subsection

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does subsection mean?

1. nounA smaller division within a larger section of a document, law, or text.

Subsection in a sentence

• The contract clause is broken down into a numbered subsection for clarity.

• Each subsection of the report covers one financial quarter.

Where does subsection come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is a transparent compound built from the Latin prefix sub-, meaning 'under' or 'below', and the noun 'section'. 'Section' itself descends from the Latin sectio, meaning 'a cutting' or 'a dividing', which in turn comes from the verb secare, 'to cut'. The same secare root gives us a whole family of cutting words, including 'dissect', 'intersect', and 'bisect'. The prefix sub- was added in English to name a smaller division sitting beneath a larger 'section', the way a paragraph nests inside a chapter. The combined form became common in the 1800s as legal documents, statutes, and technical manuals needed precise ways to label nested divisions of text. Because both halves are spelled out fully, the spelling trap is simply remembering that there is no extra letter between 'sub' and 'section': the two parts join cleanly.

How the word is built

• sub- (under, below)
• sect (from Latin secare: to cut)
• -ion (noun suffix)