Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2024 September 19
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September 19
editEnglish word to refer to an entity under another one
editIs there an English word to refer to an entity that is under another one where both of them are not part of each other? Neutralhappy (talk) 19:06, 19 September 2024 (UTC)
- Lower, inferior, underlying, bottom? I may be missing some important aspect of your question, because this seems too easy. Do you want an adjective? Should it exclude the possibility that the two entities are part of the same whole? Should it be limited to two entities?
- Notes: lower only specifies having a position with less height, not necessarily underneath the other thing. Inferior is either scientific (as used in anatomy) or has a more common meaning of "less good". Underlying implies the thing is hidden and perhaps supports the thing above. Your best option might be bottom. Card Zero (talk) 19:24, 19 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for your reply. What does a "subsidiary" have to do with an organisation as given in this page for the template of an infobox? Does the term "subsidiary" in the page Template:Infobox organization mean a company, or an entity affiliated to the main organisation? Neutralhappy (talk) 21:48, 19 September 2024 (UTC)
- Oh I see, you meant "entity" as in an organisation, and "under" as in "managed by". Context is everything.
- Well, in the infobox, subsidiary is listed immediately after "parent organization", and means the opposite. It's wikilinked to subsidiary, which gives the alternate term daughter company. So yes, as you say, a company, or an entity affiliated to the main organisation (and controlled by it). Card Zero (talk) 22:04, 19 September 2024 (UTC)
- I could not see the term subsidiary being used to refer to a non-company affiliated organisation, in dictionaries. But the wikilinked article subsidiary only speaks of a company. So can we use the term subsidiary to refer to a non-company affiliated organisation that is under another one? Neutralhappy (talk) 16:46, 20 September 2024 (UTC)
- That statement is difficult to respond to because it's entirely unclear what you mean by a non-company affiliated organization. "Non-company" could mean nonprofit or unincorporated. In general, if a legal entity is formed in some way that it can be owned, then it can be a subsidiary. And if it can't be owned because it's too amorphous and informal, like a unincorporated association, then it can't be a subsidiary and in that situation is merely called an affiliate of another organization. --Coolcaesar (talk) 17:12, 20 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for you reply. Is there a need to add a parameter for "affiliate" in the Template:infobox organization? Or can "subsidiaries" in the infobox be used to show affiliates too? Neutralhappy (talk) 18:54, 20 September 2024 (UTC)
- Put the other organizations under "subsidiaries" if they are subsidiaries, but not under "affiliations". See Nation of Islam for an example. (However, if they are not subsidiaries, put them under "affiliations". See International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. Don't put the same organization under both. Unless that makes good sense somehow.) Card Zero (talk) 19:46, 20 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for you reply. Is there a need to add a parameter for "affiliate" in the Template:infobox organization? Or can "subsidiaries" in the infobox be used to show affiliates too? Neutralhappy (talk) 18:54, 20 September 2024 (UTC)
- That statement is difficult to respond to because it's entirely unclear what you mean by a non-company affiliated organization. "Non-company" could mean nonprofit or unincorporated. In general, if a legal entity is formed in some way that it can be owned, then it can be a subsidiary. And if it can't be owned because it's too amorphous and informal, like a unincorporated association, then it can't be a subsidiary and in that situation is merely called an affiliate of another organization. --Coolcaesar (talk) 17:12, 20 September 2024 (UTC)
- I could not see the term subsidiary being used to refer to a non-company affiliated organisation, in dictionaries. But the wikilinked article subsidiary only speaks of a company. So can we use the term subsidiary to refer to a non-company affiliated organisation that is under another one? Neutralhappy (talk) 16:46, 20 September 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for your reply. What does a "subsidiary" have to do with an organisation as given in this page for the template of an infobox? Does the term "subsidiary" in the page Template:Infobox organization mean a company, or an entity affiliated to the main organisation? Neutralhappy (talk) 21:48, 19 September 2024 (UTC)