Dictionary

nether region en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From nether + region.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:often pluralized) Hell; a realm beneath the surface of the earth conceived as the abode of the souls of the dead and, sometimes, as the abode of demons or evil spirits.
   • The other, dwarfed and prehensile, might in its uncanny silhouette have been an imp of darkness from the nether regions. 1921, William MacLeod Raine, Gunsight Pass, ch. 1:
   • At this instant old Roger Chillingworth thrust himself through the crowd—or, perhaps, so dark, disturbed, and evil was his look, he rose up out of some nether region. 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, ch. 23:
   • None of them were sorry when Faust was duly consigned to the nether regions. 1890, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Firm of Girdlestone, ch. 25:
2. (broadly, qualifier:often pluralized) A place which is subterranean or enclosed beneath a surface, especially one which is dark, dank, or otherwise inhospitable.
   • But the steward of those nether regions marked him, by the electric lamps, as a lurking passenger to be watched; and wondered who, at that depth in the ship, could be carrying valuables. 1918, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Foe-Farrell, ch. 12:
3. (euphemistic, humorous, qualifier:often pluralized, sometimes) The private parts between the legs; the groin or buttocks.
   • The rash of celebrities flashing their nether regions worries Peter Post, director of the Emily Post Institute of etiquette and manners. 2006 November 29, Sheila Marikar, “Britney Keeps Flashing, Cameras Keep Clicking”, in ABC News:
   • But her main concern is the hard seating that numbs the nether regions. 2020 April 22, “Letters: Open Access: Not easy for laptops”, in Rail, page 31:

Forms

Relateds

nether cheek

Synonyms

underworld (Hell, a realm beneath the earth) · Hades (Hell, a realm beneath the earth) · netherworld (Hell, a realm beneath the earth)