English
Netherlands
From nether (“lower”) + lands, the country being very low-lying, with a great part below sea level.
A compound of nether ‘lower’ + land
Proto-Indo-European *ni-
…
Proto-West Germanic *niþer ‘down, downwards’
Old English niþer ‘down, downwards’
Old English niþera ‘lower, under, lowest’
Middle English nether
English nether
Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- ‘land’
Proto-Germanic *landą
Proto-West Germanic *land ‘land’
Old English land
Middle English lond ‘an independent nation’
English land
Today it means
name The Kingdom of the Netherlands. A country in Western Europe, consisting of four constituent countries: the Netherlands per se, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Netherlands