Etymology

nether-

Today it means: low, lower, below, under, beneath. Full definition →

Middle English nither- ← Old English niþer-
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromniþer-
  2. Middle English · inherited fromnither-
  3. English todaynether-

From Middle English nither-, neother-, from Old English niþer- (prefix), from niþer (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”). Cognate with Dutch neder-, neer- (“down”), German nieder- (“down”). More at nether.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.