Subscript in math

A quantity displayed below the normal line of text (and generally in a

smaller point size), as the "i" in a_i, is called a subscript. Subscripts are
commonly used to indicate indices (a_(ij) is the entry in the ith row and jth
column of a matrix A), partial differentiation (y_x is an abbreviation for
partialy/partialx), and a host of other operations and notations in mathematics.
-Wolfrom MathWorld

-By James H. Steiger