Etymologically
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undermine

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 03:21. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌʌn.dəˈmaɪn/[1]
  • US: /ˌʌn.dɚˈmaɪn/[1]

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

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