'subcommittee' originates from the prefix 'sub-' meaning 'under' or 'below' and the word 'committee', which comes from the Latin 'committere', meaning 'to entrust'.

'subcommittee' evolved from the combination of 'sub-' and 'committee' in English, maintaining its meaning of a smaller group within a larger one.

Initially, it meant 'a smaller group within a committee', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.