Etymograph

English

subdwarf

From sub- + dwarf.

A compound of sub- + dwarf

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

Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’

Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’

English sub-

Proto-Germanic *dwergaz

Proto-West Germanic *dwerg

Old English dweorg

Middle English dwergh

English dwarf

Today it means

noun A star that is dimmer than a main-sequence star of same temperature; located below the main sequence on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “subdwarf”. 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 / subdwarf

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