English edit

Etymology edit

sub- +‎ definition

Noun edit

subdefinition (plural subdefinitions)

  1. A lesser or secondary definition.
    • 2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 486:
      In the four-volume supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary (hereafter, OED), its editor, Burchfield, supplied a separate subdefinition stating that Hobson-Jobson was ‘[u]sed as the title of a famous collection of Anglo-Indian words’ [...] Thus, along with the Bible and the Koran, Hobson-Jobson, the book, has been elevated to the special status of being defined in the OED.