under-

See also: under and ûnder

English

Etymology

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

under-

1. Beneath, under

   e.g. underground, underneath, underpass

2. (metaphor) 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

• 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

• (under): hypo-, sub-, infra-
• (forming a transitive verb): en-
• (less than): hypo-, olig-, meio-
• (deficient): hypo-, dys-, mal-
• (subordinate): vice-, sub-

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “under”): over-, epi-, sur-
• (antonym(s) of “less than”): hyper-, supra-, pleo-
• (antonym(s) of “deficient”): telo-, per-, pur-
• (antonym(s) of “subordinate”): arch-

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with under-

Translations

under (in any sense): insufficient, insufficiently

• Armenian: թեր- (tʻer-)
• Danish: under-
• Dutch: onder (nl) f
• French: sous- (fr)
• German: unter- (de)
• Greek: υπο- (el) (ypo-)
• Moroccan Amazigh: ⴰⴷⵓ- m (adu-), ⵜⴰⴷⵓ- f (tadu-), ⵉⴷⵓ- m pl (idu-), ⵜⵉⴷⵓ- f pl (tidu-)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: under-

  Nynorsk: under-

• Portuguese: sub- (pt)
• Russian: под- (ru) (pod-), недо- (ru) (nedo-) (insufficient)
• Ukrainian: під- (pid-), недо- (nedo-)

Anagrams

• Duren, nuder, ruden, runed, unred, urned

Norwegian Bokmål

Prefix

under-

1. under-
2. sub-

Related terms

• under

References

Norwegian Bokmål terms prefixed with under-

• “under-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• poinn- (dialectal)

Prefix

under-

1. under-
2. sub-

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk terms prefixed with under-

Related terms

• under
• undervass-

Old English

Etymology 1

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

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

Prefix

under-

1. between, among

   understandan ― to understand (originally 'to stand between', 'be near to both sides')

   underscēotan ― to intercept

Etymology 2

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

under-

1. beneath
2. subordinate to

   underling ― underling, subordinate

Derived terms

Old English terms prefixed with under-

Swedish

Prefix

under-

1. under-
2. sub-

Derived terms

Swedish terms prefixed with under-

Related terms

• under
• undervattens-

Anagrams

• runde, undre