subtitle

[suhb-tahyt-l] /ˈsʌbˌtaɪt l/
noun
1.
a secondary or subordinate title of a literary work, usually of explanatory character.
2.
a repetition of the leading words in the full title of a book at the head of the first page of text.
3.
Movies, Television.
  1. the text of dialogue, speeches, operas, etc., translated into another language and projected on the lower part of the screen.
  2. (in silent motion pictures) a title or caption.
verb (used with object), subtitled, subtitling.
4.
to give a subtitle to.
Origin
1875-80; sub- + title
Related forms
subtitular
[suhb-tich-uh-ler, -tit-yuh-] /sʌbˈtɪtʃ ə lər, -ˈtɪt yə-/ (Show IPA), adjective
unsubtitled, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for subtitle

subtitle

/ˈsʌbˌtaɪtəl/
noun
1.
an additional subordinate title given to a literary or other work
2.
(often pl) (films) Also called caption
  1. a written translation superimposed on a film that has foreign dialogue
  2. explanatory text on a silent film
verb
3.
(transitive; usually passive) to provide a subtitle for
Derived Forms
subtitular (sʌbˈtɪtjʊlə; -ˈtɪtʃə-) adjective
Word Origin and History for subtitle
n.

1825, "subordinate or additional title," in reference to literary works, from sub- "under" + title. Applied to motion pictures first in 1909.

Encyclopedia Article for subtitle

a secondary or explanatory title. Such titles can explain the form of the work, as in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Remorse: A Tragedy, in Five Acts; they can give an idea of the theme or contents of the book, as in George Eliot's Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life; or they can simply be an alternate title, which may or may not be a comment on the work, such as Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson and Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley.

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