beneath

English

Alternative forms

• beneathe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English benethe, from Old English beneoþan (“beneath, under, below”), from Proto-Germanic *bī-niþana (“below”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, under”). Cognate with Low German benedden (“beneath”), Dutch beneden (“beneath, under, down”), German benieden (“below”). Compare also Danish neden (“below”), Swedish and Icelandic nedan (“below, under”). See also nether.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɪˈniːθ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːð

Adverb

beneath

1. below or underneath

Translations

below or underneath

Catalan: sota (ca) Finnish: alla (fi)

Italian: sotto (it)

Preposition

beneath

1. below
2. to a lower position
3. covered up or concealed by something

Translations

below

Armenian: տակ (hy) (tak) Bulgarian: отдолу (bg), под (bg) Catalan: sota (ca) Czech: pod (cs) Finnish: alla (fi), alapuolella (fi) Norwegian: under (no)

Romanian: sub (ro), dedesubt (ro) Russian: под (ru) Scots: aneath Scottish Gaelic: fo (gd) Spanish: bajo de (es), abajo de (es) Ukrainian: під (uk)

to a lower position

Finnish: alle (fi), alapuolelle (fi)

Russian: ниже (ru)

concealed or covered up

Finnish: alla (fi)

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: soft · officers · likely · #833: beneath · conversation · music · direction