Hmmm...

Did a bit of damage in the ol' Oxford English today...

So, Chaucher pretty much coined the term "suburb" (or, well, "the suburbe of a toun") in Canterbury Tales! That's 1383! I can't find my copy tonight, but I'll look it up soon...

Also, I'm realizing that the original suburb (probably that to which Chaucer refers), while not the American suburb, could have been more of a class-separation tool than a population-accommodating necessity.

...so does the "sub-" reflect not only to the geography of it all but the "lesser", "lowly" people who lived there?

Maybe not. But I needed to write this.