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subscript

noun, verb, adj — 6 senses

subscript

noun

/ˈsʌbskɹɪpt/

Etymology From sub- + script.

1

Media, Publishing, Typography A type of lettering form written lower than the things around it.

  • In chemical formulas the number of atoms in a molecule is written as a subscript, so we write H₂O for water which has two atoms of hydrogen for each one of oxygen.
2

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences An index into an array or hash.

  • If the container is subscriptable and you remember the position where a particular piece of data was stored, you can use the subscript to efficiently retrieve the data.2012, Robert Robson, Using the STL: The C++ Standard Template Library, page 249:
Antonyms
superscript
Derived terms
iota subscript
Related terms
script, subscribe, subscription

subscript

verb

Etymology From sub- + script.

1

Mathematics, Media, Publishing, Sciences, Typography Of a variable To provide with a subscript.

  • As in the chapters on the synchronous model, we use the convention of subscripting a variable by the index of the process at which the variable resides.1996, Nancy A. Lynch, Distributed Algorithms, Elsevier, page 210:
  • The elements of these matrices are subscripted with a row–column index, that is, with two integers that give the row and column position in the array.2011, William M. Davis (original author Cifford E. Dykstra), Physical Chemistry: A Modern Introduction (Second Edition), CRC Press, page 424
2

Mathematics, Media, Publishing, Sciences, Typography Of a text To convert to a subscript form.

  • If your presentation covers chemistry or some other scientific field, you'll need to subscript and superscript characters (think H2O).2007, Emily A. Vander Veer, PowerPoint 2007: The Missing Manual:
3

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences To access (an array element) by its index.

  • Avoid subscripting arrays or hashes within loops.2005, Damian Conway, Perl Best Practices:
Antonyms
superscript
Derived terms
subscriptable

subscript

adj

Etymology From sub- + script.

1

Written underneath.

Related terms
superscribe

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.