subˈalpine, a. (n.)
[ad. L. subalpīnus: see sub- 12 and Alpine. Cf. F. subalpin.]
1. Belonging to regions lying about the foot of the Alps.
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., Subalpine, under the Alps. 1829 Murchison in Philos. Mag. V. 402 The tertiary or subalpine deposits, which to the west of the Brenta are so much traversed by basaltic and trap rocks. 1833 Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 45 The fossil shells..of many of the Subalpine formations, on the northern limits of the plain of the Po. 1842 W. C. Taylor Anc. Hist. xiii. §1 (ed. 3) 365 Subalpine Italy received the name of Gaul from the Gallic hordes that settled in the northern and western districts. 1907 A. Lang Hist. Scot. IV. xvi. 412 A miserable little sub-Alpine inn. |
b. n. An inhabitant of such regions. rare.
| 1838 G. S. Faber Inquiry 479 Native Piedmontise Sub⁓alpines. Ibid. 503 The Subalpines or Vallenses. |
2. Partly alpine in character or formation; pertaining to or characteristic of elevations next below that called alpine; belonging to the higher slopes of mountains (of an altitude of about 4,000 to 5,500 feet).
| 1833 Hooker in Smith Eng. Flora V. i. 71 Trees and rocks, in stony and subalpine countries. 1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornwall, etc. i. 3 The hills and cliffs bordering the Bristol Channel..forming a coast remarkable for its general elevation and the sub-alpine character of some of its valleys. 1858 Irvine Brit. Plants 78 The alpine and sub-alpine plants. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 242 Wet sub⁓alpine limestone rocks of York and Durham. 1886 ― Flora Brit. India V. 57 Subalpine and Alpine Himalaya. |