Subsume
Etymology
From Latin “sub-” (under) and “sumere,” to take. So, literally, to take under. It began as a term of logic — placing a particular instance under a general premise — and broadened to any absorption of the smaller into the larger.
verb · /suhb-SOOM/
To absorb something into a larger category or principle that already covers it.
What it names
Hierarchical inclusion — folding a specific case under a general rule, or a small unit into a bigger one.
Example
When the startup was acquired, its whole design team was subsumed into the parent company’s marketing arm.
Related idea
To subsume is to fold one thing under another as a case of it; to supersede is to replace it outright. The subsumed thing survives inside the larger; the superseded one is gone.