substatute en · NOUN
Etymology
From sub- + statute.
Meanings
-
A secondary or lesser statute.
But those were substatutes of Ms. Hyams’s code for apartment life, which mostly celebrated and mandated intrabuilding socializing. Ms. Hyams, the doting owner of a gray poodle (“she wore it like a brooch,” said one neighbor), organized pet play dates on her floor.
2008 June 23, Susan Dominus, “Uniting Neighbors, in Fun and Sorrow”, in New York Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| substatutes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |