subcelebrity

English

Etymology

From sub- +‎ celebrity.

Noun

subcelebrity (countable and uncountable, plural subcelebrities)

1. (uncountable) The state or quality of being somewhat known but not enough to be considered truly famous.
   • 1908 August, Eugene Manlove Rhodes, “The Torch”, in Out West:

     Himself almost unknown, Gay yet held a curious subcelebrity with not a few men who had won distinction in widely diverging lines.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:subcelebrity.
2. (countable) A person who is somewhat known but not famous enough to be considered a true celebrity.
   • 1912, Beth Harbison, When in Doubt, Add Butter, St. Martin's Press, published 2012, →ISBN, page 62:

     So Angela was relegated to the netherworld of D.C. subcelebrities — not quite interesting enough to be famous but just famous enough to be interesting.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:subcelebrity.

Related terms

• sublebrity