subdiscipline
|sub-dis-ci-pline|
🇺🇸
/ˌsʌbˈdɪsəplɪn/
🇬🇧
/ˌsʌbˈdɪsɪplɪn/
smaller branch of a field
Etymology
'subdiscipline' originates from Latin elements: the prefix 'sub-' and the noun 'discipline' (from Latin 'disciplina'), where 'sub-' meant 'under, below' and 'disciplina' meant 'teaching, instruction, training'.
'discipline' comes from Latin 'disciplina' (meaning 'instruction, learning'), passed into Old French and then Middle English as 'discipline'. The compound 'subdiscipline' was formed in modern English by adding the Latin prefix 'sub-' to 'discipline' to denote a subordinate or narrower branch.
Initially 'discipline' referred to 'teaching' or 'training'; over time it shifted to mean a branch of learning or a field of study. 'Subdiscipline' therefore evolved to mean 'a smaller or more specialized branch within a discipline.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a relatively narrow or specialized area within a broader academic discipline or field of study.
Cognitive neuroscience is a subdiscipline of neuroscience that focuses on the neural bases of cognition.
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Noun 2
a specialized area of practice or research within a professional field (used outside strictly academic contexts as well).
Within engineering, structural dynamics is a subdiscipline that deals with how structures respond to loads over time.
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Last updated: 2026/01/06 17:34