under-

under-

See also: under and ûnder

English

Etymology

    From Middle English under-, from Old English under-, from Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under, from Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér (below) and *h₁n̥tér (inside). For more, see under.

    Prefix

    under-

    1. Beneath, under
      e.g. underground, underneath, underpass
    2. (figurative) To go from one side to the other; to progress along a path
      e.g. understand, undergo, underbear, undertake
    3. Less than, beneath in quantity
      e.g. underadditive, underage, underbound
    4. Deficient, below what is correct, insufficient
      e.g. underapply, underbill, underawe
    5. Subordinate to
      e.g. undersecretary, underling, underclass

    Usage notes

    • In many common cases, this prefix is attached directly to a word. When forming new words, however, it is typically hyphenated until the word becomes common.

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

    English terms prefixed with under-

    Translations

    Anagrams

    Danish

    Etymology

    See under

    Prefix

    under-

    1. under-
    2. sub-

    Derived terms

    Norwegian Bokmål

    Prefix

    under-

    1. under-
    2. sub-

    References

    Norwegian Nynorsk

    Alternative forms

    Prefix

    under-

    1. under-
    2. sub-

    Derived terms

    Old English

    Etymology 1

    From Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under, from Proto-Indo-European *nter- (between, among), akin to Old English under (under, beneath), Old High German untar (between, among), Latin inter (between, among). More at inter-.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈun.der/ (as a nominal prefix)
    • IPA(key): /ˌun.der/ (as a verbal prefix)

    Prefix

    under-

    1. between, among
      understandanto understand (originally 'to stand between', 'be near to both sides')
      underscēotanto intercept

    Etymology 2

    From Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under, from Proto-Indo-European *ndhero- (lower), akin to Old English under (between, among, in the presence of), Old High German untar (under), Latin infra (below, beneath).

    Prefix

    under-

    1. beneath
    2. subordinate to
      underlingunderling, subordinate
    Derived terms

    Swedish

    Etymology

    See under

    Prefix

    under-

    1. under-
    2. sub-

    Derived terms

    Anagrams