tr.v. sub·sumed, sub·sum·ing, sub·sumes 1. To classify or include in a more comprehensive category or under a general principle: "When late eighteenth-century Americans spoke of politics, they referred to a broad set of principles that they subsumed under the heading of republicanism" (Eric Foner). 2. To absorb (something) into or cause (something) to be overshadowed by something else: "The moment's regret was subsumed in the needs of the next moment" (Diana Gabaldon). [Medieval Latin subsūmere : Latin sub-, sub- + Latin sūmere, to take; see em- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] sub·suma·ble adj. |
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