subtraction

C2+ Topic:Numbers & Quantity

US /səbˈtrækʃən/ UK /səbˈtrækʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the process of taking one number or amount away from another

The child practiced addition and subtraction with counters.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the process of taking one... deduction removal withdrawal diminution abstraction

Opposites

addition summation

Word family

Related forms subtracttractorextract abstract

Etymology

From Late Latin subtractiō ('a drawing back, withdrawal'), from subtrahere ('to draw away, withdraw'), from sub- ('away, under') + trahere ('to draw, pull').

sub Latin trahere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Numbers & Quantity Word Formation & Derivatives

# subtraction

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** səbˈtrækʃən
**IPA (UK):** səbˈtrækʃən

## Meanings
1. the process of taking one number or amount away from another

## Examples
- The child practiced addition and subtraction with counters.

## Synonyms
- deduction
- removal
- withdrawal
- diminution
- abstraction

## Antonyms
- addition
- summation

## Related Forms
- subtract
- tractor
- extract
- abstract

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sub
- Root: trahere

## Etymology
From Late Latin subtractiō ('a drawing back, withdrawal'), from subtrahere ('to draw away, withdraw'), from sub- ('away, under') + trahere ('to draw, pull').

## AI Etymology
Subtraction comes from Late Latin subtractiō ('a drawing back, withdrawal'), from subtrahere ('to draw away, withdraw'), from sub- ('away, under') + trahere ('to draw, pull'). The historical chain includes Latin sub and Latin trahere. The quoted older senses, "a drawing back, withdrawal", "to draw away, withdraw", "away, under", and "to draw, pull", supply the semantic anchors for subtraction. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word subtraction carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "the process of taking one number or amount away from another". Related English forms include subtract, tractor, extract, and abstract. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Numbers & Quantity
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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