'subsection' originates from Latin, specifically the prefix 'sub-' and the word 'sectio' (from 'secare'), where 'sub-' meant 'under' and 'secare' meant 'to cut'.

'subsection' changed from Latin 'sectio' to Old French 'section' and Middle English 'section'; the Modern English compound 'subsection' was formed by adding the Latin prefix 'sub-' to 'section'.

Initially it referred to a 'cutting' or 'division' (from 'sectio'), but over time it evolved to mean 'a distinct smaller part of a section' in organized texts.