(music) the fourth note of the diatonic scale

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
also sub-dominant , 1793, in music, from sub- + dominant (n.).

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. (music) the fourth note of the diatonic scale

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Subdominant \Sub*dom"i*nant\, n. (Mus.) The fourth tone above, or fifth below, the tonic; -- so called as being under the dominant.

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 (context music English) The fourth tone of a scale. 2 (context music English) The triad built on the subdominant tone.

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
In music , the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale . It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the ...