1. (a.) Ranked or ranged below; subordinate; inferior; specifically (Mil.), ranking as a junior officer; being below the rank of captain; as, a subaltern officer.

2. (a.) Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition.

3. (n.) A person holding a subordinate position; specifically, a commissioned military officer below the rank of captain.

4. (n.) A subaltern proposition.

ADC CO OD aide aide-de-camp brigadier brigadier general captain chicken colonel chief of staff cog colonel commandant commander commander in chief commanding officer commissioned officer common commonality commonalty company officer creature demeaning disadvantaged exec executive officer field marshal field officer first lieutenant five-star general flunky follower four-star general general general officer generalissimo hoi polloi humble in the shade inferior infra dig jemadar junior junior officer less lesser lieutenant lieutenant colonel lieutenant general lightweight low lower lower class lower orders lowly major major general marechal marshal masses minor modest officer one-star general orderly officer ordinary pawn poor relation risaldar scrub second fiddle second rank second string secondary senior officer servile shavetail sirdar staff officer sub subahdar subject sublieutenant subordinate subservient the Old Man the brass third rank third string third stringer three-star general top brass two-star general underling underprivileged understrapper vulgar yes-man