undermine

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English underminen,^[2][3][4] formed from Middle English under- + mīnen (“to mine, dig”).^{[2][3][5][4][6]} The Oxford Dictionary of English and the Shorter Oxford think the formation was probably suggested by Middle Dutch ondermineren.^[7][8] Similar formations are Dutch ondermijnen, Danish underminere and German unterminiren.^[5][4] The verb mine is from Old French miner (“to mine, dig under”), which in Anglo-Norman is recorded from 1306 for digging under a besieged fortress.^[9] The Old English verb for this was Old English underdelfan.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To dig beneath a wall or the like, especially in a siege; to sap: before 1382, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible.^[5][2] Etymonline dates the verb to about 1300.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Soon after the military sense, water was said to undermine ground by washing it away (1398, in Trevisa),^[5] and animals to undermine by burrowing (1526).^[5] The figurative sense, to work secretly against a person or overthrow him by underhand means, is recorded in Lydgate about 1430,^[5][4][6] with the related "to win over or pervert by subtle means" from 1457.^[5] In the 16th century the verb could also mean to find something out, or question someone, by stealth (to 1599).^[5] The main modern sense, to weaken or ruin gradually and insidiously, is from 1569,^[5] and of health from 1812, in Crabbe.^[5] Johnson (1755) gave first "to dig cavities under any thing, so that it may fall, or be blown up; to sap".^[10] In pathology the verb is used from 1879 of erosion beneath a surface, as by an ulcer.^[5][3]

Timeline

• 1382 – to dig beneath, make a mine under; to make excavations.^[5]
• 1398 – of water, to wash away from beneath.^[5]
• c. 1430 – to work secretly against, overthrow by underhand means.^[5][4]
• 1457 – to win over or pervert by subtle means.^[5]
• 1524 – noun, an underground excavation (obsolete by 1629).^[5]
• 1526 – of animals, to burrow under.^[5]
• c. 1550 – to find out by stealth (obsolete by 1596).^[5]
• 1569 – to weaken or ruin insidiously.^[5]
• 1812 – to weaken health by degrees.^[5]
• 1879 – pathology, to erode beneath the surface.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To weaken or damage gradually or by underhand means: Repeated leaks undermined trust in the committee.^[11][3][5]
2. Of water or wind, to wear away the base or support of land, a cliff or a building.^[11][3][5]
3. To dig or tunnel beneath something, originally to make it fall in a siege.^{[11][3][5][10]}
4. (medicine) To erode beneath the surface, as an ulcer does.^[3][5]
5. To weaken health or strength by degrees; to sap.^[5][3]

Word family

• underminer
• underminingly

Related words

• mine

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins