beneath English · revision 6605

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=854|origins=ang beneoþan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɪˈniːθ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English benethe, [[inh|ang|beneoþan|t=below, underneath]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|ang|be-|t=by, about]] and [[m|ang|neoþan|t=below, down, from below]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[gem-pro|*niþar|t=lower, down]] (see [[nether]]),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and cognate with [[osx|nithana]] and [[goh|nidana]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Below, lower on a written page: 854 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In a lower position generally is from about 1205,^(OED 1989) and directly underneath from about 1250.^(OED 1989) Below on earth, in the world, and beneath the earth, in hell, are early senses now archaic.^(OED 1989) Lower in rank, degree or excellence is from late Old English.^(Etymonline) Unworthy of, as in ''beneath him'', is from 1849.^(Etymonline) The OED notes that be- gave the sense ''where'' and excluded the sense ''whence'' of the simple Old English niþan.^(Etymonline) In Staffordshire and Pembrokeshire dialect beneath was a verb, to lower oneself.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 854 – lower on a page.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1205 – in a lower position.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1250 – directly underneath.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1849 – unworthy of.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # Below; under: ''beneath the surface''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Lower than in rank or status.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Unworthy of: ''beneath contempt''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # In a lower place; [[underneath]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nether]]

+ * [[underneath]]

+ * [[below]]

+ * [[beside]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}