English
subsedative
From sub- + sedative.
Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up; from below’
Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’
Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’
English sub-
Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
…
Latin sēdō ‘to allay, settle, still, calm, assuage or…’
Medieval Latin sēdātīvus ‘calming, allaying’
Anglo-Norman sedatif
Middle English sedatif
English sedative
Today it means
adj Less than would cause sedation
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “subsedative”. 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 / subsedative