Etymograph

English

subcontrary

From sub- + contrary.

Formed from sub- + contrary

Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up; from below’

Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’

Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’

English sub-

Middle English contrarie

English contrary

Today it means

adj Having, or being in, a contrary order; said of a section of an oblique cone having a circular base made by a plane not parallel to the base, but so inclined to the axis that the section is a circle; applied also to two similar triangles when so placed as to have a common angle at the vertex, the opposite sides not being parallel.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “subcontrary”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / subcontrary