subscript

noun subscripts

1. A type of lettering form written lower than the things around it. In chemical formulas the number of atoms in a molecule is written as a subscript, so we write H₂O for water which has two atoms of hydrogen for each one of oxygen.
2. An index into an array or hash. If the container is subscriptable and you remember the position where a particular piece of data was stored, you can use the subscript to efficiently retrieve the data.

Opposite: superscript

verb subscripts · subscripting · subscripted

1. transitive, of a variable To provide with a subscript. As in the chapters on the synchronous model, we use the convention of subscripting a variable by the index of the process at which the variable resides.
2. transitive, of a text To convert to a subscript form. If your presentation covers chemistry or some other scientific field, you'll need to subscript and superscript characters (think H2O).
3. transitive To access (an array element) by its index. Avoid subscripting arrays or hashes within loops.

Opposite: superscript

adjective

1. not comparable Written underneath.