English
subdialect
From sub- + dialect.
Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up; from below’
Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’
Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’
English sub-
Ancient Greek διαλέγομαι ‘to participate in a dialogue’
Ancient Greek διάλεκτος ‘conversation, the language of a country or a…’
Latin dialectos ‘a dialect (esp. Greek)’
Middle French dialecte
English dialect
Today it means
noun A subdivision of a dialect.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “subdialect”. 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 / subdialect