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Webster 1913 Edition

Beneath

Be-neath′

,
p
rep.
[OE.
benethe
,
bineoðen
, AS.
beneoðan
,
benyðan
; pref.
be-
+
neoðan
,
nyðan
, downward, beneath, akin to E.
nether
. See
Nether
.]
1.
Lower in place, with something directly over or on; under; underneath; hence, at the foot of.
“Beneath the mount.”
Ex. xxxii. 19.
Beneath
a rude and nameless stone he lies.
Pope.
2.
Under, in relation to something that is superior, or that oppresses or burdens.
Our country sinks
beneath
the yoke.
Shakespeare
3.
Lower in rank, dignity, or excellence than;
as, brutes are
beneath
man; man is
beneath
angels in the scale of beings
. Hence: Unworthy of; unbecoming.
He will do nothing that is
beneath
his high station.
Atterbury.

Be-neath′

,
adv.
1.
In a lower place; underneath.
The earth you take from
beneath
will be barren.
Mortimer.
2.
Below, as opposed to heaven, or to any superior region or position;
as, in earth
beneath
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Beneath

BENE'ATH

, prep.
1.
Under; lower in place, with something directly over or on, as to place a cushion beneath one; often with the sense of pressure or oppression, as to sink beneath a burden, in a literal sense.
2.
Under, in a figurative sense; bearing heavy impositions, as taxes, or oppressive government.
Our country sinks beneath the yoke.
3.
Lower in rank, dignity or excellence;as, brutes are beneath man;; man is beneath angels, in the seale of beings.
4.
Unworthy of; unbecoming; not equal to; as, he will do nothing beneath his station or character.

BENE'ATH

,
adv.
In a lower place; as, the earth from beneath will be barren.
1.
Below, as opposed to heaven, or to any superior region; as, in heaven above, or in earth beneath.

Definition 2024

beneath

beneath

English

Alternative forms

Adverb

beneath

  1. Below or underneath.
    • 2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
      Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.

Translations

Preposition

beneath

  1. Below.
    • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
      Our country sinks beneath the yoke.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope
      Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.
  2. In a position that is lower in rank, dignity, etc.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Francis Atterbury
      He will do nothing that is beneath his high station.
  3. Covered up or concealed by something.

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: soft · officers · likely · #833: beneath · conversation · music · direction

Etymology

From Middle English benethe, from Old English beneoþan ‎(“beneath, under, below”), from Proto-Germanic *bi + *niþanē ‎(“below”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- ‎(“in, under”). Cognate with Low German benedden ‎(“beneath”), Dutch beneden ‎(“beneath, under, down”), German benieden ‎(“below”). Compare also Danish neden ‎(“below”), Swedish and Icelandic nedan ‎(“below, under”). See also nether.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪˈniːθ/
  • Rhymes: -iːθ

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