sb. and a. [ad. L. subscript-us, -a, -um, pa. pple. of subscribĕre to write underneath, SUBSCRIBE.] A. sb.
1. That which is written underneath; a writing at the bottom or end of a document, etc.; a signature.
a. 1704. T. Brown, Ep. to C. Dives, Wks. 1711, IV. 179. By the Subscript, you’ll quickly guess The Occasion of this odd Address.
1713. Bentley, Freethinking, § 37. But be they Postscripts or Subscripts; your Translators neither made them, nor recommended them for Scripture.
1815. Monthly Mag., XXXIX. 307/2. The subscript, concerning which your correspondent … enquires.
1892. Blackw. Mag., Sept., 393. Monsieur Daudet hints that his captivating headline had not a little to do with the sale of its subscript.
2. A subscript letter or symbol.
1901. Mod. Lang. Notes, June, 323/1. Any of the accented letters, superscripts, subscripts and symbols found in the type-founder’s catalogs.
B. adj. Written underneath; chiefly in iota subscript (see IOTA 1), the small ι written underneath in ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ.
1871. Wordsworth, Gk. Primer, 6. The Dative Singular always ends in ι, which, however, is generally subscript.
1877. Raymond, Statist. Mines & Mining, 437. The subscript w denoting that A is taken with reference to water.
1881. Westcott & Hort, Grk. N. T., Introd. § 410. Analogy is distinctly in favour of allowing the Iota subscript.
1900. N. & Q., Ser. IX. VI. 485/2. The subscript cedilla is really a little z.
