under

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See also: ûnder and under-

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English under, from Old English under, from Proto-Germanic *under (whence also German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under), from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥dʰér (“under”) and *h₁entér (“inside”). Akin to Old High German untar (“under”), Sanskrit अन्तर् (antar, “within”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

The pepper is under (sense 1) the rectangle

under

  1. At the bottom of or in the area covered or surmounted by.
    We found some shade under a tree.
    About £10,000 was stuffed under the mattress.
    There is nothing new under the sun.
    There is an oil leak under the car.
    • 1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC:
      The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess‎[2]:
      Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall.  Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.
    • 2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
      Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. […] Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
    1. Below the surface of.
      The crocodile lurked just under the water.
  2. From one side of to the other, passing beneath.
    I crawled under the fence.
    There is a tunnel under the English Channel.
  3. Less than.
    Interest rates are now under 1%.
    We can get there in under an hour.
  4. Subordinate to; subject to the control of; in accordance with; in compliance with.
    He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley.
    During the pandemic, we had to live under severe restrictions.
    Under the law and concession agreement with other parties, the private company must pay taxes in time and on a right amount.
    • 1987, Arthur C. Hasiotis, Jr., Soviet Political, Economic, and Military Involvement in Sinkiang from 1928 to 1949‎[3], Garland Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 62:
      There is general agreement that his military forces were organized into six divisions. They were stationed at the following places: at Ti-hua under the command of Liu Hsi-tsen, at T'a-ch'eng under Chiang Sung-lin, at Ili under Niu Shih, at A-shan under Wei Chen-kuo, at A-k'o-su under Chang Tzu-t'ing, and at Ko-shih-ko-erh (Kashgar) nominally under Tsou-ying, but in reality under Chin's brother, Chin Shu-chih.
    • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎[4]:
      He was then denied by a magnificent tackle from captain Terry as Liverpool continued to press - but Chelsea survived as the memories of the nightmare under Villas-Boas faded even further into the background.
    • 2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian‎[5]:
      Dati launched a blistering attack on the prime minister, François Fillon, under whom she served as justice minister, accusing him of sexism, elitism, arrogance and hindering the political advancement of ethnic minorities.
  5. Within the category, classification or heading of.
    File this under "i" for "ignore".
  6. (figurative) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force).
    • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France‎[6]:
      England's World Cup dreams fell apart under a French onslaught on a night when their shortcomings were brutally exposed at the quarter-final stage.
    to collapse under stress; to give in under interrogation
  7. Using or adopting (a name, identity, etc.).
    • 2013, The Huffington Post, JK Rowling Pseudonym: Robert Galbraith's 'The Cuckoo's Calling' Is Actually By Harry Potter Author‎[7]:
      J.K. Rowling has written a crime novel called 'The Cuckoo's Calling' under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
    He writes books under the name John Smith.
    She now lives under a new identity.

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adverb[edit]

under (not comparable)

  1. In or to a lower or subordinate position, or a position beneath or below something, physically or figuratively.
    pulled under by the currents
    weighed under by worry
  2. So as to pass beneath something.
    There's quite a gap, so you may be able to sneak under.
  3. (usually in compounds) Insufficiently.
    The plants were underwatered.
    Women are under-represented.
  4. (informal) In or into an unconscious state.
    It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under.

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

under (comparative more under, superlative most under)

  1. Lower; beneath something.
    This treatment protects the under portion of the car from rust.
    (in compounds) underbelly, underside, undershirt, undersecretary
    • 1835, J G. Peters, A treatise on equitation, or the art of horsemanship, page 179:
      The advantages he gains are of double security to him ; first, by the support of his haunches, being at all times more under than before, he learns to be more active with his hind-quarters
    • 1908, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, The American golfer, volumes 1-2, page 10:
      If you allow the right hand to turn under more than the left, a pull will result, and if the left is more under than the right, a sliced ball will surely follow.
    • 2009, Doris Lessing, Briefing for a Descent Into Hell, page 30:
      The waves are so steep, they crash so fast and furious I'm more under than up.
  2. In a state of subordination, submission or defeat.
    The army could not keep the people under.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians ix:27:
      I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.
    • 1892, Sir George Giffard, Reminiscences of a Naval Officer, page 45:
      When ready for sea we went up to Greenhithe, that their lordships might inspect us, and then to Portsmouth, to take troops to Cork, a pleasant trip; but the troops left us a legacy of "mahogany flats," with which their beds were so swarming that we never got them under.
  3. (medicine, colloquial) Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated.
    Ensure the patient is sufficiently under.
  4. (informal) Insufficient or lacking in a particular respect.
    This chicken is a bit under. (insufficiently cooked)
    This bag of apples feels under. (of insufficient weight)
    My pay packet last week was £10 under. (of insufficient monetary amount)
  5. Down to defeat, ruin, or death.
    The COVID=19 epidemic and shutdown took some businesses under.
    Big-box store and online retailing have driven many specialty and local retail stores under.

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from under (all parts of speech)
See also under-

Noun[edit]

under (plural unders)

  1. The amount by which an actual total is less than the expected or required amount.
    • 2008, G. Puttick, Sandy van Esch, The Principles and Practice of Auditing, page 609:
      […] standard cash count forms used to record the count and any overs or unders.

References[edit]

  • Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
  • “under”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
  • “under”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams[edit]

Chinese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English underwear or undies.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

under

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) underwear

References[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under, cognate with English under, German unter.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /on(ˀ)ər/, [ɔnɐ], [ɔnˀɐ] or (as an adverb or at the end of a phrase) IPA(key): /onˀər/, [ˈɔnˀɐ]

Preposition[edit]

under

  1. under
  2. underneath
  3. below
  4. during

Adverb[edit]

under

  1. under

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, cognate with English wonder, German Wunder.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /onˀər/, [ˈɔnˀɐ]

Noun[edit]

under n (singular definite underet, plural indefinite undere)

  1. wonder
  2. marvel
  3. miracle
Inflection[edit]
Declension of under
neuter
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative under underet undere underne
genitive unders underets underes undernes
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Clipping of underdel or underside.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

under c (singular definite underen, plural indefinite undere)

  1. bottom (part)
Declension[edit]
Declension of under
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative under underen undere underne
genitive unders underens underes undernes

Etymology 4[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

under

  1. present tense of unde

Latin[edit]

Verb[edit]

under

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of undō

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English under, from Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under.

Preposition[edit]

under

  1. under
  2. among

Descendants[edit]

  • English: under
  • Scots: unner
  • Yola: unnere

References[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈʉ̂nːəɾ/, /ˈʉ̂ndəɾ/
  • Predominantly silent d in the preposition, pronounced /d/ in the noun; but individual speakers may deviate.

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under.

Preposition[edit]

under

  1. below; beneath
  2. during
  3. under
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”).

Noun[edit]

under n (definite singular underet or undret, indefinite plural under or undere or undre, definite plural undera or underne or undra or undrene)

  1. wonder, marvel, miracle
Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under. Akin to English under.

Preposition[edit]

under

  1. below, beneath, under
  2. during
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”). Akin to English wonder.

Noun[edit]

under n (definite singular underet, indefinite plural under, definite plural undera)

  1. wonder, marvel, miracle
Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Old Dutch[edit]

Preposition[edit]

under

  1. under

References[edit]

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *under. Compare Old Saxon undar, Old High German untar.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

under

  1. under
  2. among

Descendants[edit]

Old Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą.

Noun[edit]

under n

  1. wonder, miracle
  2. wonderment, awe, marvel

Declension[edit]

  Declension of under (strong a-stem)
neuter singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative undr undrit undr undrin
accusative undr undrit undr undrin
dative undri, undre undrinu, undreno undrum, undrom undrumin, undromen
genitive undrs undrsins undra undranna

Descendants[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Swedish undir, from Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under.

Preposition[edit]

under

  1. under; below; beneath
  2. during, at the same time as
    Under lektionen pratade de hela tiden.
    During the lesson, they talked all the time.
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Swedish under, from Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”).

Noun[edit]

under n

  1. wonder, miracle
    Undrens tid är inte förbi.
    The age of miracles isn't over.
Declension[edit]
Declension of under 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative under undret under undren
Genitive unders undrets unders undrens
Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “under”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy]‎[1] (in Swedish), 1937

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

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