a prefixal use of under, as to indicate place or situation below or beneath ( underbrush; undertow ); lower in grade or dignity ( undersheriff; understudy ); of lesser degree, extent, or amount ( undersized ); or insufficiency ( underfeed ).
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch onder, German unter, Old Norse undir; akin to Latin inferus “lower” ( inferior ( def ) )
Middle English; Old English Discover More“The institution of marraige [sic] is under attack in our society and it needs to be strengthened,” Bush wrote.
It is grandstanding for a right rarely protected unless under immediate attack.
“Price for adults to $4250; From 10 years to 14 years to $2125; Under 10 years free,” the listing says.
“Under Suleimani several military branches have taken shape [in Iraq] which are run by Iran and the Iranian military,” he said.
And that means they also fall under the umbrella of programs most likely to get the axe when state and federal budgets are tight.
Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.
The Pontellier and Ratignolle compartments adjoined one another under the same roof.
The Majesty on high has a colony and a people on earth, which otherwise is under the supremacy of the Evil One.
Poor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him.
For several months he remained under a political cloud, charged with incompetency to quell the Philippine Rebellion.
Discover MoreUnder- is a prefix meaning “under” and is used in a variety of senses, including “below or beneath,” “inferior,” or “lesser.” It is often used in a variety of everyday terms.
Under- ultimately comes from Old English under, of the same meaning. The Greek translation of under is hypó, the source of the prefix hypo–, and the Latin translation is sub, the source of the prefix sub–. These prefixes can be found in hypoallergenic, hypothermia, subterranean, and subway. To learn more, check out our entries for all four words.
An example of a word you may have encountered that features under– is
underdog, “a person who is expected to lose in a contest or conflict.”
We know under– means “under,” and the –dog portion of the word clearly means “dog.” The term comes from dogfighting and refers to a dog who lost a fight. The term came to be used figuratively to refer to anyone in a competition. Underdog literally means “lesser dog.”
What are some words that use the combining form under-?
What are some other forms that under– may be commonly confused with?
Given the meaning of under-, what does undercut literally mean?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.