Etymograph

English

under

Under comes from Old English under ‘under, beneath’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *under ‘under, beneath; among’, a merger of two older prepositions.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*under‘under, beneath; among’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*undar‘under’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150under‘under, beneath’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*under‘under, beneath; among’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*undar‘under’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150under‘under, beneath’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611same form

Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “I keep under my body, and bring it into…”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *under

Today it means

prep Beneath; below; at or to the bottom of, or the area covered or surmounted by.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *under / under

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