[suh
b-soom] 
| 1. | to consider or include (an idea, term, proposition, etc.) as part of a more comprehensive one. |
| 2. | to bring (a case, instance, etc.) under a rule. |
| 3. | to take up into a more inclusive classification. |
| sub·sume (səb-sōōm') tr.v. sub·sumed, sub·sum·ing, sub·sumes To classify, include, or incorporate in a more comprehensive category or under a general principle: "The evolutionarily later always subsumes and includes the evolutionarily earlier" (Frederick Turner). [Medieval Latin subsūmere : Latin sub-, sub- + Latin sūmere, to take; see em- in Indo-European roots.] sub·sum'a·ble adj. |