under-

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See also: under and ûnder

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English under-, from Old English under-, from Proto-Germanic *under, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥dʰér (lower) and *n̥tér (inside). For more, see under.

Prefix

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under-

  1. Beneath, under
    e.g. underground, underneath, underpass
  2. (figurative) To go from one side to the other; to progress along a path
    e.g. understand, undergo, underbear, undertake
  3. Less than, beneath in quantity
    e.g. underadditive, underage, underbound
  4. Deficient, below what is correct, insufficient
    e.g. underapply, underbill, underawe
  5. Subordinate to
    e.g. undersecretary, underling, underclass

Usage notes

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  • In many common cases, this prefix is attached directly to a word. When forming new words, however, it is typically hyphenated until the word becomes common.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Prefix

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under-

  1. under-
  2. sub-
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References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Alternative forms

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Prefix

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under-

  1. under-
  2. sub-

Derived terms

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Old English

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-Germanic *under, from Proto-Indo-European *nter- (between, among), akin to Old English under (under, beneath), Old High German untar (between, among), Latin inter (between, among). More at inter-.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈun.der/ (as a nominal prefix)
  • IPA(key): /ˌun.der/ (as a verbal prefix)

Prefix

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under-

  1. between, among
    understandanto understand (originally 'to stand between', 'be near to both sides')
    underscēotanto intercept

Etymology 2

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From Proto-Germanic *under, from Proto-Indo-European *ndhero- (lower), akin to Old English under (between, among, in the presence of), Old High German untar (under), Latin infra (below, beneath).

Prefix

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under-

  1. beneath
  2. subordinate to
    underlingunderling, subordinate
Derived terms
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Swedish

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Prefix

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under-

  1. under-
  2. sub-

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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