under þe sonne

Middle English

Alternative forms

• under sonne, anunder þe sonne, anunder sonne
  • See alternative forms at under, anunder, þe and sonne.

Etymology

Calque of Hebrew תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ (táchat hashémesh). The phrase has been associated with the book of Ecclesiastes ever since appearing 29 times in the translation into Middle English by John Wycliffe.

Prepositional phrase

under þe sonne

1. On earth.
2. In existence; in the world.
   • 1382, 1395, Wycliffe, Bible, Ecclesiastes 9:11:

     Y siy vndur sunne

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • c. 1387-1400 Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, "The Knight's Tale":

     gretter was ther noon under the sonne

Synonyms

• under þe mone

Descendants

• English: under the sun

References

• “sonne, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 16 June 2018.