different between situation vs subject

English

Alternative forms

• scituation (hyper?correct, obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English situacioun, situacion, from Middle French situation, from Medieval Latin situatio (“position, situation”), from situare (“to locate, place”), from Latin situs (“a site”). Equivalent to situate +? -ion

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?t-yo?o-?'sh?n, s?ch-o?o-?'sh?n, IPA^(key): /s?tju??e???n/, /s?t?u?(w)e???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

situation (plural situations)

1. The combination of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs.
2. The way in which something is positioned vis-à-vis its surroundings.
   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows:

     ...he being naturally an underground animal by birth and breeding, the situation of Badger's house exactly suited him and made him feel at home; while the Rat, who slept every night in a bedroom the windows of which opened on a breezy river, naturally felt the atmosphere still and oppressive.

3. The place in which something is situated; a location.
   • 1833, Thomas Hibbert and Robert Buist, The American Flower Garden Directory, page 142:

     [Hibíscus] speciòsus is the most splendid, and deserves a situation in every garden.

4. Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.
5. (Britain) A position of employment; a post.
   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Penguin 2006, page 78:

     When he was nineteen, he suddenly left the 'Co-op' office, and got a situation in Nottingham.

   • 1946, Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, Milt Gabler, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie:

     You take a morning paper from the top of the stack

     And read the situations from the front to the back

     The only job that's open need a man with a knack

     So put it right back in the rack Jack.

6. A difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.

   Boss, we've got a situation here...

Synonyms

• (combination of circumstances): condition, set up; see also Thesaurus:state

Related terms

• site
• situate
• situated
• situationism

Translations

See also

• situation comedy, sitcom

References

• Source for the definitions:
  • Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. [1] (accessed: March 10, 2007).
• situation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• situation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• situation at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• titanious

French

Etymology

situer +? -ation

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.t?a.sj??/

Noun

situation f (plural situations)

1. situation (all meanings)

Derived terms

• mise en situation
• situation intéressante

Descendants

• ? Romanian: situa?ie

Further reading

• “situation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Interlingua

Noun

situation (plural situationes)

1. situation, state of affairs

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s?tva??u?n/, /s?t?a??u?n/

Noun

situation c

1. a situation

Declension

Synonyms

• läge

Related terms

• nödsituation
• situationskomik

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English subget, from Old French suget, from Latin subiectus (“lying under or near, adjacent, also subject, exposed”), as a noun, subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subici? (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaci? (“throw, hurl”), as a calque of Ancient Greek ??????????? (hupokeímenon).

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?b?j?kt, IPA^(key): /?s?b.d??kt/
• (also) (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?b.d??kt/
• Hyphenation: sub?ject

Adjective

subject (comparative more subject, superlative most subject)

1. Likely to be affected by or to experience something.
   • c. 1678 (written), 1682 (published), John Dryden, Mac Flecknoe

     All human things are subject to decay.

2. Conditional upon something; used with to.

3. Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.
4. Placed under the power of another; owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state.
   • , Book I

     Esau was never subject to Jacob.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Latin subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subici? (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaci? (“throw, hurl”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?b?j?kt, IPA^(key): /?s?b.d??kt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?b.d??kt/
• Hyphenation: sub?ject

Noun

subject (plural subjects)

2. (grammar) In a clause: the word or word group (usually a noun phrase) about whom the statement is made. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject and the actor are usually the same.

3. An actor; one who takes action.

   The subjects and objects of power.

4. The main topic of a paper, work of art, discussion, field of study, etc.
   • 1695, John Dryden (translator), Observations on the Art of Painting by Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy

     Make choice of a subject beautifull and noble, which […] shall […] afford […] an ample field of matter wherein to expatiate itself.
5. A particular area of study.
6. A citizen in a monarchy.

7. A person ruled over by another, especially a monarch or state authority.
8. (music) The main theme or melody, especially in a fugue.
   • 1878, William Smith Rockstro, "Subject" in A Dictionary of Music and Musicians

     The earliest known form of subject is the ecclesiastical cantus firmus, or plain song.

9. A human, animal or an inanimate object that is being examined, treated, analysed, etc.
   • 1748, Conyers Middleton, Life of Cicero

     Writers of particular lives […] are apt to be prejudiced in favour of their subject.
10. (philosophy) A being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness, or a relationship with another entity.
11. (logic) That of which something is stated.
12. (mathematics) The variable in terms of which an expression is defined.

Synonyms

• (discussion): matter, topic

Derived terms

• between-subjects
• subject matter
• subject title
• subjective
• within-subjects

Translations

See also

• object
• predicate

Etymology 3

From Medieval Latin subiect?, iterative of subici? (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaci? (“throw, hurl”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?b-j?kt?, IPA^(key): /s?b?d??kt/, /s?b?d??kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt

Verb

subject (third-person singular simple present subjects, present participle subjecting, simple past and past participle subjected)

1. (transitive, construed with to) To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted.

   I came here to buy souvenirs, not to be subjected to a tirade of abuse!

2. (transitive) To make subordinate or subservient; to subdue or enslave.

Synonyms

• underbring

Translations

Further reading

• subject in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• subject in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• subject at OneLook Dictionary Search