I. “+ adjective
Etymology: sub- + dominant
1. : incompletely dominant
2. : being or having the quality of a subdominant
subdominant chords
subdominant life-forms in an ecological community
II. noun
Etymology: sub- + dominant n.
: something dominant to an inferior or partial degree: as
a. : the fourth musical degree of the major or minor scale (as F in the scale of C)
b. : a species or life-form that is ecologically important but subordinate in influence to the dominants of a community or is characteristic of a structural subunit or partial area of a community
shrubs may be prominent subdominants in a forest community
sometimes forbs behave as seasonal subdominants in grasslands