Dictionary

noun

Definitions

1. A subordinate.

2. A commissioned officer having a rank below that of captain; a lieutenant or second lieutenant.

3. A subaltern proposition; a proposition implied by a universal proposition. For example, some crows are black is a subaltern of all crows are black.

4. (literary theory) A member of a group that is socially, politically and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland.