nether

Meaning

Adj

1. Lower; under.
2. Lying beneath, or conceived as lying beneath, the Earth’s surface.

Adv

1. Down; downward.
2. Low; low down.

Verb

1. (Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To bring or thrust down; bring or make low; lower; abase; humble.
2. (Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To constrict; straiten; confine; restrict; suppress; lay low; keep under; press in upon; vex; harass; oppress.
3. (Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To pinch or stunt with cold or hunger; check in growth; shrivel; straiten.
4. (Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To shrink or huddle, as with cold; be shivery; tremble.
5. (Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive) To depreciate; disparage; undervalue.

Noun

1. (Scotland, UK, dialectal) Oppression; stress; a withering or stunting influence.
2. A trouble; a fault or dislocation in a seam of coal.

Synonyms

under

lower

inferior

down

low

chthonian

subaltern

chthonic

downwards

adown

below

downbound

beneath

down below

downstairs

infra

junior

subjacent

underlying

to the bottom

Translations

inferior

inférieur

κάτω

cehennem

unter

κατώτερος

bas

inferiore

inferior

subterrâneo

bajo

alt

baix

sotterraneo

Pronounced as (IPA)

/nɛð.ə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: nether

Inherited from Old English: niþera

Cognate with Dutch: neder

Cognate with German: nieder

Cognate with Luxembourgish: nidder

Cognate with Danish: -

Cognate with Norwegian: -

Cognate with Swedish: ned

Cognate with Swedish: nedre

Cognate with Faroese: -

Cognate with Icelandic: niður

Inherited from Middle English: nitheren

Inherited from Old English: niþerian

In summary

From Middle English nether, nethere, nithere, from Old English niþera (“lower, under, lowest”, adjective), from niþer, niþor (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, *niþra (“down”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, down”). Cognates include Dutch neder, German nieder, Luxembourgish nidder, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ned, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nedre (“lower”), Faroese and Icelandic niður.