Etymology

underneath

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Today it means: Below; in a place beneath. Full definition →

Middle English undernethe ← Old English underneoþan ← Proto-Germanic *underniþer
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*underniþer
  2. Old English · inherited fromunderneoþan“underneath”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromundernethe
  4. English todayunderneath

From Middle English undernethe, undernethen, from Old English underneoþan (“underneath”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *underniþer. Equivalent to under- + neath.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.