Dictionary

nether en · ADJ · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /nɛð.ɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• (US) audio
• /neð.ə/ (Australia)
• /nɛð.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English nether, nethere, nithere, from Old English niþera (“lower, under, lowest”, adjective), from niþer, niþor (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, *niþra (“down”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, down”). Cognates include Dutch neder, German nieder, Luxembourgish nidder, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ned (“down”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nedre (“lower”), Faroese and Icelandic niður.

Meanings

1. Lower; under.
   • And yet another marvel, the nether side of the canopy over the high seats was encrusted with lapis lazuli, and in that feigned dome of heaven burned the twelve signs of the zodiac, every star a diamond that shone with its own light. 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 3:
   • The disappointed child’s nether lip quivered.
2. Lying beneath, or conceived as lying beneath, the Earth’s surface.
   • the nether regions
   • When one thinks of the tremendous forces of the upper and the nether world which play for the mastery of the soul of a woman during the few years in which she passes from plastic girlhood to the ripe maturity of womanhood, 1873, Mark Twain, The Gilded Age, page 187:

Forms

Deriveds

netherwards · Nether Kellet · Netherlands · nether hair · netherdom · Nether Broughton · netherworld · Nether Heyford · Nether Staveley · Nether Providence · Netherexe · nether cheek · nether-hair · hard as the nether millstone · nether region · Nether Padley · netherward · Nethertown · Nether Denton · Nether Wyresdale · Nether Whitacre · Nether Peover · nether world · nether-shirt · Nether Exe · Nether Wallop · Nether Poppleton · netherlands · nethermore · Nether-Saxon · nether thought · Nether Alderley · nethermost · Hartington Nether Quarter · netherhood · netherverse · netherness · Netherland

Synonyms

subterranean (beneath the Earth's surface) · lower (lower) · bottom (lower) · subsurface (beneath the Earth's surface)

Translations (41)

cs dolní (lower) · lb nidder (beneath the earth's surface) · fr inférieur (lower) · bar nida (beneath the earth's surface) · ro sub (lower) · fi alempi (lower) · grc χθόνιος (beneath the earth's surface) · bg подземен (beneath the earth's surface) · fr souterrain (beneath the earth's surface) · hu alsó (lower) · pt inferior (lower) · bar nida (lower) · gmw-cfr nedde (lower) · hy ստորերկյա (beneath the earth's surface) · es subterráneo (beneath the earth's surface) · es de abajo (lower) · pl podziemny (beneath the earth's surface) · fi ala- (lower) · cs dolejší (lower) · eo subtera (beneath the earth's surface) · bg долен (lower) · lb nidder (lower) · hu föld alatti (beneath the earth's surface) · eo malalta (lower) · it inferiore (lower) · it sotterraneo (beneath the earth's surface) · hy ստորին (lower) · ro subteran (beneath the earth's surface) · de nieder (lower) · hu al- (lower) · hu al- (beneath the earth's surface) · fi maanalainen (beneath the earth's surface) · cs spodní (lower) · ru подзе́мный (beneath the earth's surface) · pl dolny (lower) · pt subterrâneo (beneath the earth's surface) · es inferior (lower) · nl neder (lower) · de unterirdisch (beneath the earth's surface) · ru ни́жний (lower) · ja 下の (lower)

nether en · ADV · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /nɛð.ɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• (US) audio
• /neð.ə/ (Australia)
• /nɛð.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English nether, nethere, nithere, from Old English niþera (“lower, under, lowest”, adjective), from niþer, niþor (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, *niþra (“down”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, down”). Cognates include Dutch neder, German nieder, Luxembourgish nidder, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ned (“down”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nedre (“lower”), Faroese and Icelandic niður.

Meanings

1. Down; downward.
2. Low; low down.

Forms

nether en · PROPN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /nɛð.ɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• (US) audio
• /neð.ə/ (Australia)
• /nɛð.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English nether, nethere, nithere, from Old English niþera (“lower, under, lowest”, adjective), from niþer, niþor (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, *niþra (“down”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, down”). Cognates include Dutch neder, German nieder, Luxembourgish nidder, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ned (“down”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nedre (“lower”), Faroese and Icelandic niður.

Meanings

1. (alt-of) Alternative letter-case form of the Nether.
   alt of the Nether

Forms

nether en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /nɛð.ɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• (US) audio
• /neð.ə/ (Australia)
• /nɛð.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Alteration of earlier nither, from Middle English nitheren, from Old English niþerian (“to depress, abase, bring low, humiliate, oppress, accuse, condemn”), from niþer (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”). See above.

Meanings

1. (Scotland, UK, dialectal) Oppression; stress; a withering or stunting influence.
2. A trouble; a fault or dislocation in a seam of coal.

Forms

nether en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /nɛð.ɚ/ (Canada, General-American)
• (US) audio
• /neð.ə/ (Australia)
• /nɛð.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Alteration of earlier nither, from Middle English nitheren, from Old English niþerian (“to depress, abase, bring low, humiliate, oppress, accuse, condemn”), from niþer (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”). See above.

Meanings

1. (Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To bring or thrust down; bring or make low; lower; abase; humble.
2. (Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To constrict; straiten; confine; restrict; suppress; lay low; keep under; press in upon; vex; harass; oppress.
3. (Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To pinch or stunt with cold or hunger; check in growth; shrivel; straiten.
4. (Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To shrink or huddle, as with cold; be shivery; tremble.
5. (Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To depreciate; disparage; undervalue.

Forms

Deriveds

nethering