Dictionary

subfusc en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /sʌbˈfʌsk/
• sŭb-fŭsk'

Etymology

From Latin subfuscus (“moderately dark”).

Meanings

1. Having subdued colors.
   • The courtiers tramping across the green eye the: [the Duke of] Suffolk with his big beard, his flashing eye, his big chest, and Master Secretary [Thomas Cromwell] subfusc, low-slung, square. 2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, London: Fourth Estate, page 6:
   • And I notice that we are both decently sub-fusc. Have you seen Trimmer in that frightful frock like a canary lampshade? 1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night:

Forms

subfusc en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /sʌbˈfʌsk/
• sŭb-fŭsk'

Etymology

From Latin subfuscus (“moderately dark”).

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) Dark clothing.
2. (uncountable, usually) Clothing acceptable, by regulation at certain universities, for an examination or official event.
3. (qualifier:Oxford University, uncountable, usually) Formal clothing worn on special academic occasions.

Forms

Relateds

subfuscous