What does "Sub-Miniature" really mean?

Question

The title of this datasheet is "Sub-Miniature Slide Switches". What meaning does "Sub-Miniature" add?

I notice that "SMA connector" also contains the term "Sub-Miniature". What does "Sub-Miniature" mean?

Answer 1

The first time something is introduced that's significantly smaller than the normal version of that thing, it's "miniature". If something is introduced that's smaller than that, simply calling it "miniature" would suggest something the size of the first thing that used that term, so it's necessary to apply a term that suggests something smaller than what people think of as "miniature". If something is introduced that's smaller than that, it might be called "micro", but beyond that point manufacturers usually give up on trying to find "smaller" adjectives.

A rough analogy might be with "small scale integration" chips (a couple dozen or so transistors) and "medium scale integration" (a few dozen), which were followed by "large scale integration" which could put hundreds of transistors on a single chip, and "very large scale integration" (a few thousand). Even if each "very" denoted an entire order of magnitude, it would seem rather silly to talk about a modern memory chip as being a very-very-very-very-very-very-large-scale integrated circuit.

Answer 2

It just means "of greatly reduced size", or "very small". link1 link2

Interestingly enough,the "sub" found in the name d-sub for connectors is also for subminitaure, because they were one of the smallest connectors of the time, even though they're considered huge today. So it is a relative term that seems to imply "smaller than we've built before".

Answer 3

Its pretty vague and relative, as in "Its smaller than the last, most frequently used generation"