under
English
Etymology
From Middle English under, from Old English under, from Proto-Germanic *under (whence also German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under), from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥dʰér (“under”) and *h₁entér (“inside”). Akin to Old High German untar (“under”), Sanskrit अन्तर् (antar, “within”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈʌndə/, [ˈɐn.də(ɹ)]
- (General American) enPR: ŭnʹ-dər IPA(key): /ˈʌndəɹ/, [ˈʌn(ɾ)ɚ], [ˈʌɾ̃ɚ]
Audio (GA) (file) - (Northern England) IPA(key): /ˈʊndə/
- Rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: un‧der
Preposition
under
- At the bottom of or in the area covered or surmounted by.
- We found some shade under a tree.
- About £10,000 was stuffed under the mattress.
- There is nothing new under the sun.
- There is an oil leak under the car.
- 1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC:
- The little boys in the front bedroom had thrown off their blankets and lay under the sheets.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.
- 2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
- Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. […] Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
- From one side of to the other, passing beneath.
- I crawled under the fence.
- There is a tunnel under the English Channel.
- Less than.
- Interest rates are now under 1%.
- We can get there in under an hour.
- Subordinate to; subject to the control of; in accordance with; in compliance with.
- He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley.
- During the pandemic, we had to live under severe restrictions.
- Under the law and concession agreement with other parties, the private company must pay taxes in time and on a right amount.
- 1987, Arthur C. Hasiotis, Jr., Soviet Political, Economic, and Military Involvement in Sinkiang from 1928 to 1949, Garland Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 62:
- There is general agreement that his military forces were organized into six divisions. They were stationed at the following places: at Ti-hua under the command of Liu Hsi-tsen, at T'a-ch'eng under Chiang Sung-lin, at Ili under Niu Shih, at A-shan under Wei Chen-kuo, at A-k'o-su under Chang Tzu-t'ing, and at Ko-shih-ko-erh (Kashgar) nominally under Tsou-ying, but in reality under Chin's brother, Chin Shu-chih.
- 2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian:
- Dati launched a blistering attack on the prime minister, François Fillon, under whom she served as justice minister, accusing him of sexism, elitism, arrogance and hindering the political advancement of ethnic minorities.
- Within the category, classification or heading of.
- File this under "i" for "ignore".
- (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force).
- to collapse under stress; to give in under interrogation
- Using or adopting (a name, identity, etc.).
- He writes books under the name John Smith.
- She now lives under a new identity.
Synonyms
Translations
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Adverb
under (not comparable)
- In or to a lower or subordinate position, or a position beneath or below something, physically or figuratively.
- pulled under by the currents
- weighed under by worry
- 1825, Thomas Moore, The Minster Boy:
- The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain / Could not bring his proud soul under.
- So as to pass beneath something.
- There's quite a gap, so you may be able to sneak under.
- (usually in compounds) Insufficiently.
- The plants were underwatered.
- Women are under-represented.
- (informal) In or into an unconscious state.
- It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under.
Translations
Adjective
under (comparative more under, superlative most under)
- Lower; beneath something.
- This treatment protects the under portion of the car from rust.
- (in compounds) underbelly, underside, undershirt, undersecretary
- 1835, J G. Peters, A treatise on equitation, or the art of horsemanship, page 179:
- The advantages he gains are of double security to him ; first, by the support of his haunches, being at all times more under than before, he learns to be more active with his hind-quarters
- 1908, Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, The American golfer, volumes 1-2, page 10:
- If you allow the right hand to turn under more than the left, a pull will result, and if the left is more under than the right, a sliced ball will surely follow.
- 2009, Doris Lessing, Briefing for a Descent Into Hell, page 30:
- The waves are so steep, they crash so fast and furious I'm more under than up.
- In a state of subordination, submission or defeat.
- The army could not keep the people under.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians ix:27:
- I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.
- 1892, Sir George Giffard, Reminiscences of a Naval Officer, page 45:
- When ready for sea we went up to Greenhithe, that their lordships might inspect us, and then to Portsmouth, to take troops to Cork, a pleasant trip; but the troops left us a legacy of "mahogany flats," with which their beds were so swarming that we never got them under.
- (medicine, colloquial) Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated.
- Ensure the patient is sufficiently under.
- (informal) Insufficient or lacking in a particular respect.
- This chicken is a bit under. (insufficiently cooked)
- This bag of apples feels under. (of insufficient weight)
- My pay packet last week was £10 under. (of insufficient monetary amount)
- Down to defeat, ruin, or death.
- The COVID=19 epidemic and shutdown took some businesses under.
- Big-box store and online retailing have driven many specialty and local retail stores under.
Derived terms
- am I under arrest
- Ascott-under-Wychwood
- Ashton under Hill
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Barton-under-Needwood
- Blymhill and Weston-under-Lizard
- Boughton under Blean
- bring under
- brush something under the carpet
- brush something under the rug
- bubble under
- buckle under
- build a fire under
- burr under one's saddle
- chicken under a brick
- come under
- cut the ground from under someone's feet
- device under test
- dive-under
- down under
- draw a line under
- drink someone under the table
- drink under the table
- driving under the influence
- Eaton-under-Heywood
- everything under the sun
- fall under
- fly-under
- flyunder
- fly under the radar
- get under one's goat
- get under someone's skin
- go under
- have had one's day under the sun
- hide one's light under a bushel
- hide one's light under a bushel
- Hope under Dinmore
- hot under the collar
- interview under caution
- keep under
- knock under
- knuckle under
- land down under
- land under
- let the grass grow under one's feet
- light a fire under
- live under a rock
- look under rocks
- Milton-under-Wychwood
- monster under the bed
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- nothing new under the sun
- one can't carry two watermelons under one arm
- one under
- over and under
- over-and-under
- over-under
- pass under the yoke
- patient under investigation
- person under train
- plough under
- plow under
- pop-under
- Preston-under-Scar
- pull the rug out from under
- push under
- put someone under
- put under
- red under the bed
- sail under false colors
- Shipton-under-Wychwood
- Simple Simon under
- sit under
- six feet under
- sleep under the same bridge
- slip under the radar
- snowed under
- snow under
- squeeze under
- stand from under
- Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe
- sweep something under the carpet
- sweep something under the rug
- take-under
- take under
- take under advisement
- talk someone under the table
- there is nothing new under the sun
- throw under a bus
- throw under the bus
- under-accommodate
- under-accommodated
- under-accommodating
- under-accommodation
- underachieve
- under a cloud
- underage
- under a lucky star
- under and over
- under-approximate
- under-approximation
- underarm
- under arms
- under arrest
- under a spell
- under-attend
- under-attended
- under-awed
- under boob
- under canvas
- under-carter
- under center
- under clothes
- under construction
- under control
- under correction
- under cover
- undercurrent
- undercut
- under-diversification
- under-diversify
- under-dose
- under-educated
- under-endowed
- under erasure
- under-extension
- under fire
- under-fired
- under glass
- underground
- under-grounder
- under hack
- underhanded
- under-handed
- under-handedly
- under-handedness
- under hatches
- under-hedging
- under-kimono
- underling
- under lock and key
- under-manager
- underneath
- under no circumstance
- under no circumstances
- under oath
- under one's arm
- under one's belt
- under one's breath
- under one's feet
- under one's hand
- under one's hat
- under one's own steam
- under one's thumb
- under one's very eyes
- under one's very nose
- under one's wing
- under over
- under-oxygenated
- under pain of
- under par
- under-petticoat
- under protest
- under-punctuation
- underrate
- underreport
- under-represent
- under-representation
- under-represented
- under-resourced
- under-ripe
- under sail
- under seal
- under-sergeant
- under-served
- under someone's nose
- under someone's roof
- under-spur-leather
- under square
- under-stander
- under-steward
- under-tenant
- under the bootheel of
- under the breath
- under the carpet
- under the cosh
- under-the-counter
- under the counter
- under the covers
- under the gun
- under the hammer
- under the hood
- under the impression
- under the influence
- under the knife
- under the knife
- under the lee
- under the loupe
- under the magnifying glass
- under the microscope
- under the pump
- under the radar
- under the rose
- under the rug
- under the rule
- under the saya
- under the stars
- under the sun
- under the surface
- under the table
- under-the-table
- under the weather
- under the wire
- under the yoke
- underthigh
- undertow
- under tow
- under-trial
- underwater
- under water
- under way
- under weigh
- underworld
- under wraps
- up-and-under
- up and under
- voice-under
- water under the bridge
- Weston-under-Lizard
- Weston under Penyard
- Weston-under-Redcastle
- Wotton-under-Edge
- See also under-
Noun
under (plural unders)
- The amount by which an actual total is less than the expected or required amount.
- 2008, G. Puttick, Sandy van Esch, The Principles and Practice of Auditing, page 609:
- […] standard cash count forms used to record the count and any overs or unders.
References
- Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
- “under”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “under”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Chinese
Pronunciation
References
Pronunciation
Verb
under
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) to be under; to be subordinate to
- 2019 June 10, 梁智勇 [Leung Chi Yung, Ronald], “2019年6月10日的聆訊紀錄本 [Transcript of the Hearing held on 10 June 2019]”, in 沙田至中環線項目紅磡站擴建部分及其鄰近的建造工程調查委員會 (前稱沙田至中環線項目紅磡站擴建部分的連續牆及月台層板建造工程調查委員會) [Commission of Inquiry into the Construction Works at and near the Hung Hom Station Extension under the Shatin to Central Link Project (formerly Commission of Inquiry into the Diaphragm Wall and Platform Slab Construction Works at the Hung Hom Station Extension under the Shatin to Central Link Project)], page 6:
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, photography) to underexpose
Danish
Etymology 1
From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under, cognate with English under, German unter.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /on(ˀ)ər/, [ɔnɐ], [ɔnˀɐ] or (as an adverb or at the end of a phrase) IPA(key): /onˀər/, [ˈɔnˀɐ]
Etymology 2
From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, cognate with English wonder, German Wunder.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /onˀər/, [ˈɔnˀɐ]
Inflection
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /onər/, [ˈɔnɐ]
Declension
Etymology 4
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /onər/, [ˈɔnɐ]
Latin
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English under, from Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under.
References
- “under, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Norwegian Bokmål
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʉ̂nːəɾ/, /ˈʉ̂ndəɾ/
- Predominantly silent d in the preposition, pronounced /d/ in the noun; but individual speakers may deviate.
Etymology 1
From Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under.
Etymology 2
From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”).
Noun
under n (definite singular underet or undret, indefinite plural under or undere or undre, definite plural undera or underne or undra or undrene)
References
- “under” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
- poinni (dialectal)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʉndər/
Etymology 2
From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”). Akin to English wonder.
Derived terms
References
- “under” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *under. Compare Old Saxon undar, Old High German untar.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈun.der/
Old Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą.
Declension
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Descendants
- Swedish: under
Swedish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɵndɛr/[1]
audio (file)
Etymology 1
From Old Swedish undir, from Old Norse undir, from Proto-Germanic *under.
Preposition
under
Related terms
- underskatta
- undertag
Etymology 2
From Old Swedish under, from Old Norse undr, from Proto-Germanic *wundrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish for, desire, strive for, win, love”).
Declension
Declension of under | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | under | undret | under | undren |
Genitive | unders | undrets | unders | undrens |
See also
- på under
- under tiden
References
- under in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- under in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- under in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
- “under”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish), 1937