under-

See also: under and ûnder

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér

Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí

Proto-Indo-European *-ér

Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér

Proto-Germanic *under

Proto-West Germanic *undar

Old English under-

Middle English under-

English under-

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-

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

(under): hypo-, sub-, infra-
(forming a transitive verb): en-
(less than): hypo-, olig-, meio-
(deficient): hypo-, dys-, mal-
(subordinate): vice-, sub-

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “under”): over-, epi-, sur-
(antonym(s) of “less than”): hyper-, supra-, pleo-
(antonym(s) of “deficient”): telo-, per-, pur-
(antonym(s) of “subordinate”): arch-

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with under-

Translations

under (in any sense): insufficient, insufficiently

Armenian: թեր- (tʻer-)
Danish: under-
Dutch: onder (nl) f
French: sous- (fr)
German: unter- (de)
Greek: υπο- (el) (ypo-)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: under-

Nynorsk: under-
Polish: pod- (pl), niedo-
Portuguese: sub- (pt)
Russian: под- (ru) (pod-), недо- (ru) (nedo-) (insufficient)
Spanish: sub- (es), infra- (es), so- (es), sota-, soto-
Ukrainian: під- (pid-), недо- (nedo-)
Unami: èkw- (literally)

Anagrams

nuder, urned, unred, Ruden, runed, Düren, Duren, ruden, Rendu

Danish

Etymology

See under

Prefix

under-

under-
sub-

Derived terms

Danish terms prefixed with under-

Norwegian Bokmål

Prefix

under-

under-
sub-

Related terms

under

References

“under-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

poinn- (dialectal)

Prefix

under-

under-
sub-

Derived terms

Related 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-

between, among
understandan ― to understand (originally 'to stand between', 'be near to both sides')

underscēotan ― to 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-

beneath
subordinate to
underling ― underling, subordinate

Derived terms

Swedish

Etymology

See under

Prefix

under-

under-
sub-

Derived terms

Swedish terms prefixed with under-

Related terms

Anagrams

runde, undre