Below an acceptable or expected level of quality; not good enough or inferior.
Formed from the prefix 'sub-' (Latin for 'under') and 'standard.' This is a relatively modern compound that became common in the 20th century to describe things falling below established norms.
The prefix 'sub-' literally means 'under' in Latin, so 'substandard' visually describes something that falls beneath the line we've drawn for acceptable quality—it's a perfect metaphor!
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