subordinator

English

From subordinate +‎ -or.

subordinator (plural subordinators)

(grammar) Any of a lexical class of words that join clauses at a subordinate syntactic level (subordinate clauses).
Synonym: complementizer

Coordinate terms: coordinator; coordinating conjunction; relative pronoun

Near-synonym: subordinating conjunction
- 2024, Geoffrey K. Pullum, The Truth About English Grammar, Polity Press, →ISBN, pages 85-86:
  Subordinators / English has a tiny set of essentially meaningless words that mark the beginnings of certain subordinate clauses (that is, clauses contained inside larger clauses). I’ll call these words subordinators (some linguists call them “complementizers,” and traditional grammars call them “subordinating conjunctions” and wrongly throw a whole bunch of prepositions in with them). I’ll discuss just three items that definitely have to be called subordinators.
One who subordinates, or reduces the status of, another person.
Coordinate term: dominator
- 1986, South African Journal of Philosophy, volumes 5-7, page 112:
  […] the possibility of women's collusion with their subordinators, e.g. of their acceptance of subordinate status […]

subōrdinātor