Beneath

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɪˈniːθ/
• Rhymes: -iːθ

Alternative forms

• beneathe obsolete

Origin

From Middle English benethe, from Old English beneoþan ("beneath, under, below"), from Proto-Germanic *bī-niþana ("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.

Adverb

1. Below or underneath.
• 2013-05-11, The climate of Tibet: Pole-land, 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.

Full definition of beneath

Preposition

1. Below.
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)Our country sinks beneath the yoke.
• Alexander Pope (1688-1744)Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies.
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 5, 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.
• Francis Atterbury (1663-1732)He will do nothing that is beneath his high station.
3. Covered up or concealed by something.