Descendant vs Subordinate - What's the difference?
descendant | subordinate |
descending from a biological ancestor.
proceeding from a figurative ancestor or source.
(literally) One who is the progeny of a specified person, at any distance of time or through any number of generations.
(figuratively) A thing that derives directly from a given precursor or source.
(biology) A later evolutionary type.
(linguistics) A language that is descended from another.
(linguistics) A word or form in one language that is descended from a counterpart in an ancestor language.
* 1993 , Jens Elmegård Rasmussen, “The Slavic i''-verbs with an excursus on the Indo-European ''?''-verbs”, in Bela Brogyanyi and Reiner Lipp (editors), ''Comparative-Historical Linguistics , John Benjamins Publishing, ISBN 978-90-272-3598-5,
Placed in a lower class, rank, or position.
* Woodward
Submissive or inferior to, or controlled by, authority.
* South
(grammar, of a clause, not comparable) dependent on and either modifying or complementing the main clause
To make subservient.
To treat as of less value or importance.
(finance) To make of lower priority in order of payment in bankruptcy.
As adjectives the difference between descendant and subordinate
is that descendant is descending from a biological ancestor while subordinate is placed in a lower class, rank, or position.As nouns the difference between descendant and subordinate
is that descendant is (literally) one who is the progeny of a specified person, at any distance of time or through any number of generations while subordinate is (senseid)(countable) one who is subordinate.As a verb subordinate is
to make subservient.descendant
English
Adjective
(-)Usage notes
The adjective may be spelled either with ant'' or ''ent'' as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ''ant .Alternative forms
* descendentAntonyms
* ascendant, ascendent, ascendingNoun
(en noun)- ''The patriarch survived many descendants : five children, a dozen grandchildren, even a great grandchild.
- ''This famous medieval manuscript has many descendants .
- ''Dogs evolved as descendants of early wolves.
- English and Scots are the descendants of Old English.
page 479:
- The direct descendant of this form is the Slavic aorist: Sb.-Cr. n?s?'', ''d?nos? .
Usage notes
The adjective may be spelled either with ant'' or ''ent'' as the final syllable (see descendent). The noun may be spelled only with ''ant .Synonyms
* * *Antonyms
* ascendant * ancestor * forebearDerived terms
* direct descendant * indirect descendantSee also
* offspring * offshoot * progeny ----subordinate
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- The several kinds and subordinate species of each are easily distinguished.
- It was subordinate , not enslaved, to the understanding.
- In the sentence, “The barbecue finished before John arrived”, the subordinate clause “before John arrived” specifies the time of the main clause, “The barbecue finished”.