Súbitas

Súbitas is a term encountered in Romance-language usage, primarily as the feminine plural form of the adjective súbito, which means sudden or abrupt. It is not a widely recognized standalone concept in modern standard usage, but in some texts it may appear as a plural noun referring to multiple sudden events or states, typically in literary or historical writing. In everyday prose, authors generally express the idea with phrases such as episodios súbitos or ataques súbitos rather than relying on the bare form súbitas.

Usage notes suggest that súbitas serves mostly as an inflected form rather than a distinct conceptual entry. When it does function as a noun, its occurrence is uncommon and often considered archaic or stylistic, with the sense tied to abruptness or rapid onset. Contemporary writing tends to favor explicit descriptors of sudden events rather than treating súbitas as a standalone noun.

Etymology traces súbitas to the Latin subitus, passing into the Romance languages where the masculine form is súbito and the feminine plural is súbitas. The accent marks reflect stress patterns characteristic of Spanish and Portuguese.

See also: súbito, sudden.