Subtetramera 
A division of coleopterous insects, having the 
tarsi four-jointed with the third joint diminu- 
tive and concealed : synonymous with Crypto- 
tetramera and Pseiidotrimera. 
subtetramerous (sub-te-tram'e-rus), a. [<NL. 
*subtetramcn<s, < L. sub, under, + NL. tetrame- 
rus, four-parted : see tctramcrous.] Four-joint- 
ed, as an insect's tarsus, but with the third joint 
very small and concealed under the second ; of 
or pertaining to the Subtetramera; pseudotrim- 
erous. 
SUbthoracic (sub-tho-ras'ik), n. 1. Situated 
under or below the thorax. 2. Not quite tho- 
racic in position: as, the subthoracic ventral 
fins of a hsh. 
subtil, An obsolete or archaic form of subtile 
or subtle. 
subtile (sut'il or sub'til), a. [Early mod. E. 
also subtil, subtyle; an altered form, to suit the 
L., of the earlier sotil, sutil, etc.; = F. subtil 
Sp. sutil = Pg. subtil = It. sottile, < L. subtihs, 
fine, thin, slender, delicate, perhaps < sub, un- 
der, + tela, a web, fabric: see tela, toil 12 .] 1. 
Tenuous; thin; extremely fine ; rare; rarefied: 
as, subtile vapor; subtile odors or effluvia; & sub- 
tile powder; a subtile medium. Also subtle. 
He forges the subtile and delicate air into wise and melo- 
dious words. Emerson, Nature, p. 49. 
2. Delicately constituted, made, or formed; 
delicately constructed ; thin ; slender ; fine ; 
delicate; refined; dainty. Also subtle. 
The remenaunt was wel kevered to my pay, 
Ryght with a subtyl covercheif of Valence, 
Ther nas no thikkere clothe of defens. 
Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, 1. 272. 
Gadere that awey with a sotil spone or ellis a fethere. 
Book of Quinte Essence (ed. Furnivall), p. 9. 
When he [the beare] resortethe to the hyllocke where the 
antes lye hid as in theyr fortresse, he putteth his toonge to 
one of the ryftes wherof we haue spoken, being as subti/le 
a& the edge of a swoorde, and there with continuall lyck- 
ynge maketh the place moyst. 
R. Eden, tr. of Gonzalus Oviedus (First Books on America, 
[ed. Arber, p. 222). 
Venustas, in a silver robe, with a thin, subtile veil over 
her hair and it. B. Jonson, Masque of Beauty. 
The more frequently and narrowly we look into them 
[works of nature], the more occasion we shall have to ad- 
mire their fine and subtile texture, their beauty, and use, 
and excellent contrivance. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. xii. 
The virtue acquires its subtile charm because considered 
as an outgrowth of the beautiful, beneficent, and bounte- 
ous nature in which it has its root. Whipple, Starr King. 
3f. Sharp; penetrating; piercing. 
The Monasterie is moist and y soyle colde, the aire sub- 
tile, scarce of bread, euil wines, crude waters. 
Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 45. 
Pass we the slow Disease, and subtil Pain, 
Which our weak Frame is destin'd to sustain. 
Prior, Solomon, iii. 
4. Same as subtle, 3. 
The Develes ben so subtyle to make a thing to seme 
otherwise than it is, for to disceyve mankynde. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 283. 
The seyd Walter by hese mtOl and ungoodly enforma- 
cion caused the seyd Duke to be hevy lord to the seyd 
William. Paston Letters, I. 16. 
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the 
field which the Lord God had made. Gen. iii. 1. 
The subtile persuasions of Ulisses. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, iii. 25. 
Wherevnto this subtile Savage . . . replyed. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, 1. 195. 
A most niblilr wench ! how she hath baited him with a 
viol yonder for a song ! B. Jonson, Poetaster, iv. 1. 
But yet I shall remember you of what I told you before, 
that he [the carp] is a very subtile fish, and hard to be 
caught. /. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 145. 
5. Same as subtle, 4. 
And [he] made that by subtyll conduytes water to be 
hydde, and to come dowue in maner of Rayne. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 162. 
With soutil pencel depeynted was this storie, 
In redoutynge of Mars and of his glorie. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1191. 
6. Same as subtle, 5. 
Subtille and sage was he manyfold, 
All trouth and verite by hym was vnfold. 
Rom, of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 5989. 
A subtile observer would perceive how truly he [Shelley] 
represents his own time. Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 411. 
7. Same as subtle, 7. 
She . . . made her subtil workmen make a shryne 
Of alle the rubies and the stones fyne 
In al Egipte mat she coude espye. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 672. 
SUbtilet (sut'il or sub'til), . [< ME. sotilen, < 
OF. soutilier, subtilier, < ML. subtiliare, make 
thin, contrive cunningly, < L. subtilis, thin, 
subtle: see subtile, a.] I. trans. To contrive 
or practise cunningly. 
Alle thise sciences I my-self soti'ed and ordeyned, 
And founded hem formest folke to deceyue. 
Piers Plowman (B), x. 214. 
6034 
II. in trans. 1. To scheme or plan cunningly. 
Eche man sotileth a sleight synne forto hyde, 
And coloureth it for a kunnynge and a clene lyuynge. 
Piers Plou-man(B), xix. 454. 
2. To tamper; meddle. 
It is no science for sothe forto sotyle inne. 
Piers Plowman (B), x. 183. 
SUbtilely (sut'il-li or sub'til-li), adv. [Former- 
ly also subtilly, subtillcy; < subtile + -ly%. Cf. 
subtly.'] 1 . In a subtile manner ; thinly ; finely. 
subtle 
Seneca, however, in one of his letters (ep. Ixxv.), sub- 
tilises a good deal on this point I that the affections are of 
the nature of a disease]. Lecky, Europ. Morals, 1. 198. 
Also spelled subtilise. 
subtilizer (sut'i- or sub'ti-li-zer), n. [< subti- 
lize + -fr 1 .] One who or that which subtilizes; 
one who makes very nice distinctions ; a hair- 
splitter. 
A subtilizer, and inventor of unheard-of distinctions. 
Kmjer North, Lord Guilford, 1. 118. (Davies.) 
A dram thereof [glass] subtilley powdered in butter or subtilty (sut'il-ti or sub'til-ti), n. ; pi. subtilties 
SirT. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 5. (-tiz). [A form of subtlety, partly conformed 
in mod. use to subtility: see subtlety, subtility.] 
1. The state or character of being subtile; 
thinness; fineness; tenuity: as, the subtilty 
of air or light; the subtilty of a spider's web. 
2. Artfully; skilfully; subtly. 
At night she stal awey ful prively 
With her face ywimpled subtilly. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 797. 
Putte it into a uessel of glas clepid amphora, the which 
solely seele. Book of Quinte Essence (ed. Furnivall), p. 11. 
In avoydyngof the payement of the seid vij. c. marc, from'buniine.'by'its too"great ra&<i/tj/"and ! diVness." ' 
the seide Sir Robert Wyngfeld sotylly hath outlay wed the Bacon, Physical Fables, vi., Expl. 
seide John Lyston in Notyngham shir, be the vertue of . 
qwch outlagare all maner of chattell to the seide John 2. The practice of making fine-drawn distmc- 
Lyston apperteynyng arn acruwyd on to the Kyng. tions; extreme niceness or refinement of dis- 
Paston Letters, I. 41. crimination ; intricacy ; complexity. Also sub- 
A Sot, that has spent 2000 in Microscopes, to find out 
Also subtlety. 
Moderation must be observed, to prevent this fine light 
Creatures. Shadwell, The Virtuoso, i. 1. 
011 Hri li PSH (snt'il-nes or sub'til-nesl n IX 
Vi 1 t? 1 Tvfo ..V.nrnr.rpr 
subtile + -ness. Cf . subtleness.] 
. illteible discourse, are spoiled by too much subtilty 
m nice divisions. 
make thin or rare ; rarefy. 
Matter, however subtUiated, is matter still. 
Boyle, Works, III. 39. 
subtiliationt (sub-til-i-a'shon), n. [< subtiliate 
+ -ion.'] The act of making thin, rare, or sub- 
tile. 
By subtiliation and rarefaction the oil contained in 
cranes if distilled before it be fermented, becomes spirit 
Sf wine. Boyle, Works, UI. 39. 
subtilisation, subtilise, etc. See subtilization, 
etc. 
SUbtilism (sut'i-lizm or sub'ti-lizm), n. [< sub- 
tile + -ism.] The quality of being subtile, dis- 
criminating, or shrewd. 
The high orthodox subtilism of Duns Scotus. 
Hitman, Latin Christianity, xiv. 3. 
subtility (su- or sub-til'i-ti), n. ; pi. subtilities 
(-tiz). [Formerly also subtillity; < F. subtilite 
= Sp. sutilidail = Pg. subtilidade = It. sottilita, 
< L. subtilita(t-)s, fineness, slenderness, acute- 
ness/ subtilis, fine, slender, subtile : see subtile.] 
1. Subtleness or subtleness; the quality of be- 
ing subtile or subtle. Also subtlety. [Rare.] 
Without any of that speculative subtility or ambidex- 
terity of argumentation. Sterne, Tristram Shandy. 
2. A fine-drawn distinction; a nicety. Also 
subtlety. 
I being very inquisitiue to know of the subtillities of 
those countreyes [China and Tartary], and especially in 
matter of learning and of their vulgar Poesie. 
Puttenham, Arte of F,ng. Poesie, p. 75. 
Their tutors commonly spend much time in teaching 
them the subtilities of logic. 
Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Life (ed. Howells), p. 42. 
subtilization (sut"i- or suVti-li-za'shqn), n. 
[= F. subtilisation = Sp. sutilizacion = Pg. sub- 
tilizaqa'o; as subtilize + -ation.] 1. The act 
of making subtile, fine, or thin. 2. In chem., 
the operation of making so volatile as to rise 
in steam or vapor. 3. Nicety in drawing dis- 
tinctions, etc. 
Also spelled subtilisation. 
subtilize (sut'i-Hz or sub'ti-liz), v. ; pret. and 
The subtilty of nature, in the moral as in the physical 
world, triumphs over the subtilty of syllogism. 
Macaulay, Utilitarian Theory of Government. 
Subtilty of motives, refinements of feeling, delicacies of 
susceptibility, were rarely appreciated [by the Romans]. 
Lecky, Europ. Morals, I. 236. 
3. Same as subtlety, 4. 
The Sarazinea countrefeten it be sotyltee of Craft for to 
disceyven the Cristene Men, as I have seen fulle many a 
tyme. Mandeville, Travels, p. 51. 
Put thou thy mayster to no payne 
By fraude nor fayned subtUhe. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 85. 
But had of his owne perswaded her by his great sub- 
tiltie. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 25. 
His subtilty hath chose this doubling line. 
B. Jonson, Sejanns, iv. 5. 
Indeed, man is naturally more prone to subtilty than 
open valor, owing to his physical weakness in comparison 
with other animals. Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 350. 
He [Washington] had no subtilty of character, no cun- 
ning ; he hated duplicity, lying, and liars. 
Theo. Parker, Historic Americans, p. 130. 
4. Same as subtlety, 5. 
Loading him with trifling subtilties, which, at a proper 
age, he must be at some pains to forget. 
Goldsmith, The Bee, No. 6. 
It is only an elevated mind that, having mastered the 
subtilties of the law, is willing to reform them. 
Sumner, Orations, 1. 162. 
5. Skill; skilfulness. 
For eld, that in my spirit dulleth me, 
Hath of endyting al the soteltee [var. subtiKtee] 
Wel ny bereft out of my remembraunce. 
Chaucer, Complaint of Venus, 1. 77. 
6f. A delicacy; a carefully contrived dainty. 
A bake mete ... with a sotette : an anteloppe ... on 
a sele that saith with scriptour, " beith all gladd & mery 
that sitteth at this niesse. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 376. 
7t. An intricate or curious device, symbol, or 
emblem. 
But Grekes have an other subtiltee : 
Of see quyete up taketh thai maryne 
Water purest, oon yere thai lete it fyne, 
Wherof thai sayen so maade is the nature 
Of bitternesse or salt that it is sure. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 197. 
A mbtiltie, a kyng settyng in a chayre with many lordes 
about hym, and certayne knyghtes with other people stand- 
yng at the bar. 
Leland, Inthron. of Abp. Warham. (Richardson.) 
pp. subtilized, ppr. subtilizing. [= F. subtttiser su l)title (sub'tFtl), n. 1. A secondary or sub- 
= Sp. sutilizar = Pg.subtilizar = It. sottilizzare; or dinate title of a book, usually explanatory, 
as subtile + -ize.] I. trans. To make thin or In th , 8 ^ Tomme of Mr Van c ., monoKraph 
fine ; make less gross or coarse ; refine or ethe- (t h e Dutch in the Arctic Seas, Volume I. : A Dutch Arctic 
Expedition and Route ; being a Survey of the North Polar 
Question, etc.) it is the sub-title rather than the title that 
realize, as matter ; spin out finely, as an argu- 
ment. 
They spent their whole lives in agitating and subtilizing 
questions of faith. Warburton, Works, IX. viii. 
By long brooding over our recollections we subtilize them 
into something akin to imaginary stuff. 
Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, xii. 
What has been said above, however, in regard to a pos- 
sible subtilized theory applies a fortiori to the coarser the- 
ory of Absolute and Relative Time. 
Amer. Jour. Philol., VIII. 66. 
II. intrans. To refine ; elaborate or spin out, 
as in argument ; make very nice distinctions ; 
split hairs. 
In doubtfull Cases he can subtilize, 
And wyliest pleaders hearts anatomize. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Magnificence. 
And Rask, one of the most eminent of modern philolo- 
gists, has subtilized so far upon them [intonations] that 
few of his own countrymen, even, have sufficient acuteness 
of ear to follow him. 
G. P. Marsh, Lects. on Eng. Lang , xiii. 
, . 
indicates the chief importance of his work. 
JV. A. Sen., CXXVII. 346. 
2. The repetition of the leading words in the 
full title at the head of the first page of text. 
Table and contents, xii, followed by subtitle to whist. 
ff. and Q., 7th ser., IX. 143. 
subtle (sut'l), a. [Early mod. E. also suttle; < 
ME. sotil, sptyl, soutil, subtil, subtyl. < OF. sotil, 
soutil, subtil = Sp. sutil = Pg. subtil = It. sottile, 
< L. subtilis, fine, thin, slender, delicate: see 
subtile, a more mod. form of the same word. 
The 6 in subtle and its older forms subtil, etc., 
was silent, as in debt, doubt, etc., being, as 
in those words, inserted in simulation of the 
orig. L. form. The form subtil, used in the 
authorized version of the Bible, has been re- 
tained in the revised version.] 1. Same as 
subtile, 1. 
