Online Etymology Dictionary

substratum (n.): 1630s, from Modern Latin substratum (plural substrata), neuter singular past participle of Latin substernere "to spread underneath," from sub- (see sub-) + sternere (see stratum).
substructure (n.): 1726, from sub- + structure (n.).
subsume (v.): 1530s, from Modern Latin subsumere "to take under," from Latin sub "under" (see sub-) + sumere "to take" (see exempt (adj.)). Related: Subsumed; subsuming.
subtend (v.): 1560s, from Latin subtendere, from sub "under" (see sub-) + tendere "to stretch" (see tenet). Related: Subtended; subtending.
subterfuge (n.): 1570s, from Middle French subterfuge, from Late Latin subterfugium "an evasion," from Latin subterfugere "to evade, escape, flee by stealth," from subter "beneath, secretly" + fugere "flee" (see fugitive).
subterranean (adj.): c.1600, from Latin subterraneus "underground," from sub "under" (see sub-) + terra "earth" (see terrain).
subtext (n.): "underlying theme of a work of literature, 1950, from sub- + text. Originally a term in Konstantin Stanislavsky's theory of acting. Earlier it was used in a literally sense of "text appearing below other text on a page" (1726).
subtile (adj.): late 14c., "clever, dexterous," from Old French subtil (14c.), from Latin subtilis "fine, thin, delicate" (see subtle). A Latinized refashioning of the French source of subtle.
subtility (n.): late 14c., alteration of subtlety on model of subtile.
subtitle (n.): 1825, "subordinate or additional title," in reference to literary works, from sub- "under" + title. Applied to motion pictures first in 1909.
subtle (adj.): c.1300, sutel, soutil, in reference to things, "of thin consistency;" in reference to craftsmen, "skilled, clever," from Old French soutil, from Latin subtilis "fine, thin, delicate, finely woven," from sub "under" (see sub-) + -tilis, from tela "web" and texere "to weave" (see texture). The spelling with -b- reflects confusion with subtile. Most non-material senses were present by late 14c.
subtlety (n.): mid-14c., from Old French soutilte, from Latin subtilitatem (nominative subtilitas), noun of quality from subtilis (see subtle).
subtotal (n.): 1906, from sub- + total (n.). The verb is attested from 1936.
subtract (v.): 1540s, from Latin subtractus, past participle of subtrahere (see subtraction). Related: Subtracted; subtracting. Earlier verb form was subtraien (early 15c.).
Here he teches þe Craft how þou schalt know, whan þou hast subtrayd, wheþer þou hast wel ydo or no. ["Craft of Numbering," c.1425]
subtraction (n.): c.1400, "withdrawal, removal," from Late Latin subtractionem (nominative subtractio) "a drawing back, taking away," from past participle stem of Latin subtrahere "take away, draw off," from sub "from under" (see sub-) + trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (n.1)). The mathematical sense is attested from early 15c.
Þou most know þat subtraccion is drawynge of one nowmber oute of anoþer nomber. ["The Crafte of Nombrynge," c.1425]
subtrahend (n.): 1670s, from Latin subtrahendus numerus "number to be subtracted," from gerundive form of subtrahere (see subtraction).
subtropical (adj.): 1842, from sub- + tropical.
suburb (n.): mid-14c., "residential area outside a town or city," from Old French suburbe, from Latin suburbium "an outlying part of a city," from sub "below, near" (see sub-) + urbs (genitive urbis) "city." An Old English word for it was underburg. Close to crowds but just beyond the reach of municipal jurisdiction, suburbs in 17c., especially those of London, had a sense of "inferior, debased, and licentious habits or life" (e.g. suburban sinner, slang for "loose woman, prostitute"). By 1817, the tinge had shifted to "inferior manners and narrow views." Compare also French equivalent faubourg.
[T]he growth of the metropolis throws vast numbers of people into distant dormitories where ... life is carried on without the discipline of rural occupations and without the cultural resources that the Central District of the city still retains. [Lewis Mumford, 1922]
suburban (adj.): 1620s, from suburb + -an.
suburbanite (n.): 1890, from suburban + -ite (1). Middle English used suburban (n.) in this sense (mid-14c.).
suburbanization (n.): 1926, noun of action from suburbanize.
suburbanize (v.): 1893, from suburban + -ize. Related: Suburbanized; suburbanizing.
suburbia (n.): 1895, from suburb + -ia, probably influenced by utopia; originally in England with reference to London.
subvention (n.): c.1400, from Middle French subvention, from Late Latin subventionem (nominative subventio) "assistance," from past participle stem of Latin subvenire "come to one's aid," from sub "up to" (see sub-) + venire "to come" (see venue).
subversion (n.): late 14c., "physical destruction, demolition, ruination," from Old French subversion, from Late Latin subversionem (nominative subversio) "an overthrow, ruin, destruction," from past participle stem of subvertere (see subvert).
subversive (adj.): 1640s, from Latin subvers-, past participle stem of subvertere (see subvert) + -ive. As a noun, attested from 1887.
subvert (v.): late 14c., "to raze, destroy, overthrow," from Middle French subvertir, from Latin subvertere, from sub "under" (see sub-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Related: Subverted; subverting.
subway (n.): 1825, "underground passage" (for water pipes or pedestrians), from sub- + way. The sense of "underground railway in a city" is first recorded 1893, in reference to Boston.
succedaneum (n.): "substitute," 1640s, from neuter of Latin succedaneus "succeeding, acting as substitute" (see succeed). Especially of inferior drugs substituted for better ones.
succeed (v.): late 14c., "come next after, take the place of another," from Old French succeder (14c.), from Latin succedere "come after, go near to," from sub "next to, after" (see sub-) + cedere "go, move" (see cede). Meaning "to continue, endure" is from early 15c. The sense of "turn out well, have a favorable result" is first recorded late 15c., with ellipsis of adverb (succeed well).
success (n.): 1530s, "result, outcome," from Latin successus "an advance, succession, happy outcome," from succedere "come after" (see succeed). Meaning "accomplishment of desired end" (good success) first recorded 1580s.
The moral flabbiness born of the bitch-goddess SUCCESS. That -- with the squalid interpretation put on the word success -- is our national disease. [William James to H.G. Wells, Sept. 11, 1906]
Success story is attested from 1925. Among the French phrases used in English late 19c. were succès d'estime "cordial reception given to a literary work out of respect rather than admiration" and succès de scandale "success (especially of a work of art) dependent upon its scandalous character."
successful (adj.): 1580s, from success + -ful. Originally any kind of success; since late 19c. it has tended to mean "wealthy" unless otherwise indicated. Related: Successfully.
succession (n.): early 14c., "fact or right of succeeding someone by inheritance," from Old French succession (13c.), from Latin successionem (nominative successio) "a following after, a coming into another's place, result," from successus, past participle of succedere (see succeed). Meaning "fact of being later in time" is late 14c.
successive (adj.): early 15c., from Medieval Latin successivus, from success-, stem of succedere (see succeed). Related: Successively.
successor (n.): "one who comes after," late 13c., from Old French successour, from Latin successor, agent noun from past participle stem of succedere (see succeed).
succinct (adj.): early 15c., "having one's belt fastened tightly," from Middle French succincte, from Latin succinctus "prepared, ready, contracted, short," past participle of succingere "tuck up (clothes for action), gird from below," from sub "up from under" (see sub-) + cingere "to gird" (see cinch). Sense of "brief, concise" first recorded early 15c.
succinctly (adv.): c.1500, from succinct + -ly (2).
succinite: 1816, from Latin succinum "amber" + -ite.
succor (n.): early 13c., from Anglo-French succors "help, aid," Old French sucurres, from Medieval Latin succursus "help, assistance," from past participle of Latin succurrere "run to help," from sub "up to" + currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). Final -s mistaken as a plural inflexion and dropped late 13c.
succotash (n.): 1751, from Narragansett (Algonquian) misickqatash "ear of corn," "of which divergent evolutions are given" [OED].
succour: chiefly British English spelling of succor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or.
succubus (n.): late 14c., alteration (after incubus) of Late Latin succuba "strumpet," applied to a fiend in female form having intercourse with men in their sleep, from succubare "to lie under," from sub- "under" (see sub-) + cubare "to lie down" (see cubicle).
succulent (adj.): c.1600, from French succulent, from Latin succulentus "having juice," from succus "juice, sap;" related to sugere "to suck," and cognate with Old English sucan "to suck" (see suck).
succumb (v.): late 15c., from Middle French succomber, from Latin succumbere "submit, sink down, lie under," from sub "down" (see sub-) + -cumbere "take a reclining position," related to cubare "lie down" (see cubicle). Originally transitive; sense of "sink under pressure" is first recorded c.1600. Related: Succumbed; succumbing.
such (adj.): Old English swylc, swilc from a Proto-Germanic compound *swalikaz "so formed" (cf. Old Saxon sulik, Old Norse slikr, Old Frisian selik, Middle Dutch selc, Dutch zulk, Old High German sulih, German solch, Gothic swaleiks), from swa "so" (see so) + *likan "form," source of Old English gelic "similar" (see like). Colloquial suchlike (early 15c.) is pleonastic.
suck (v.): Old English sucan, from PIE root *sug-/*suk- of imitative origin (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German sugan, Old Norse suga, Middle Dutch sughen, Dutch zuigen, German saugen "to suck;" Latin sugere "to suck," succus "juice, sap;" Old Irish sugim, Welsh sugno "to suck"). Meaning "do fellatio" is first recorded 1928. Slang sense of "be contemptible" first attested 1971 (the underlying notion is of fellatio). Related: Sucked; sucking. Suck eggs is from 1906. Suck hind tit "be inferior" is American English slang first recorded 1940.
sucker (n.): "young mammal before it is weaned," late 14c., agent noun from suck. Slang meaning "person who is easily deceived" is first attested 1836, American English, on notion of naivete; the verb in this sense is from 1939. But another theory traces the slang meaning to the fish called a sucker (1753), on the notion of being easy to catch in their annual migrations. Meaning "lollipop" is from 1823.
suckerpunch (n.): also sucker punch, 1926, from sucker + punch. Figurative use by 1929. As a verb by 1942. Related: Sucker-punched.
suckle (v.): c.1400, perhaps a causative form of Middle English suken "to suck" (see suck), or a back-formation from suckling (though this word is attested only from mid-15c.). Related: Suckled; suckling.
suckling (n.): mid-15c., "an infant at the breast," from suck + diminutive suffix -ling. Cf. Middle Dutch sogeling, Dutch zuigeling, German Säugling. Meaning "act of breast-feeding" is attested from 1799.