Etymology

underestimate

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Today it means: To estimate too low; to perceive (someone or something) as having a lower value, quantity, worth, etc., than what he/she/it actually has. Full definition →

English estimate ← Middle English under- ← Old English under-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Englishestimate
  13. English todayunderestimate

From under- + estimate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.