beneathadv.prep.adj.

/bɪˈniːθ/

Forms: Old English beniþan, beneoðan, benyðan, Middle English bi-neoðen, bineoþen, bineðen, binoþen, ( Orm.) bineþenn, Middle English bi-neoðe, bineoþe, bineðe, Middle English bi-neþe(n, Middle English binethen, by-neþen, byneathe, be-nyþe, Middle English by-nethen, by-neþe, beneþe, Middle English–1500s bynethe, Middle English byneithe, bineth, Middle English–1500s by-, beneth(e, Middle English– beneath; 1700s– 'neath.

Etymology: Old English bi-niðan , be-neoðan , < bi- be- prefix + niðan, neoðan ‘below, down,’ originally ‘from below,’ earlier neoðane , neoðone , = Old Saxon nithana , Old High German nidana , Middle High German niden(e , modern German nieden , < Germanic niþar ‘lower, farther down, down’: see nether adj. and n. + adverbial ending -ana, originally expressing motion ‘from.’ The be- gave or emphasized the notion of ‘where,’ excluding that of ‘whence’ pertaining to the simple niðan. The modern 'neath is abbreviated < beneath. Originally an adverb, but already in Old English construed with dative (of reference), as a preposition.

A. adv.

a. gen. In a low position relatively to some other place; in a lower position; low or lower down; downward; = below adv. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > low down or below

anunderOE

nethenOE

underneathc1000

beneath?c1225

theredown1297

alowc1400

belowc1400

at-lowa1500

aneath?1800

ablow1829

underfoot1886

the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > under

underc825

thereunderc897

beneath?c1225

beneath-forth1398

hereunder1639

subjacently1874

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 286 Brad ase scheld buuen..naru bineoðen.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12781 Ofte wes þe drake buuen and eft seoððen bineoþen [c1300 Otho bi-neoþe].

c1305 St. Kenelm 127 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 51 On of his beste freond..In þe grounde stod byneþe.

1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle (1483) iv. xxxiv. 82 As well of tho that ben bynethen as tho that ben aboue.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy xiii. 5529 A mon fro þe myddell vp, And fro the nauyll by-neithe, vne an abill horse.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iv. 55 + 4 And heares it [sc. the sea] rore beneath.

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 122 To the girdle doe the gods inherit, beneath is all the fiends.

1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iii. 298 Pure water in a font beneath reflects The many-colour'd rays.

†b. Lower on a written or printed page; = below adv. 5. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > below or hereafter (in a later part of a book, etc.)

hereafterc900

aftereOE

innermorea1387

under1389

underneath1389

hereunder1425

below1645

beneath1668

post1688

infra1740

overleaf1742

therein after1818

over1893

854 Chart. Æthelwulf in Cod. Dipl. V. 106 Ðara naman her beneoðan awritene standað.

1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. xxvii. 64 Of which see other Anatomists..and my father Bartholinus beneath.

2. With reference to certain understood points:

†a. Beneath the skies; in the world, on the earth. Obsolete or archaic; expressed by below adv. 2a.

ΚΠ

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 10 Ðan sal him almigtin luuen Her bil-neðen and..abuuen.

1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5055 We synful..bynethe on þe erthe.

1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Exod. xx. 4 In heuene aboue, and..in erthe benethe [so in 1611].

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xx. 242 Say youre prayers here byneth.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) John viii. f. cxxxij^v Ye are from beneth, I am from above.

1875 R. Browning Aristophanes' Apol. 106 Our world beneath Shows..grimly gross.]

b. Beneath the earth; in Hades, in hell.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > hell > [adverb] > under the earth or in hell

beneath1340

below1555

1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5408 Helle bynethen..Sal þan be open.

1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xiv. 9 Hell from beneath is mooued for thee.

a1736 T. Yalden On Re-printing Milton's Prose Wks. in Wks. Eng. Poets (1810) XI. 74/1 The dread abyss beneath, Hell's horrid mansions.

a. Directly below; underneath.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > earth > [adverb] > on earth

beneatha1300

below the moonc1300

under the moon (also anunder moon)c1300

below?1520

the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > low down or below > directly below

beneatha1300

a1300 Cursor Mundi 1681 Þu sal bi-neþ en on þe side Mak a dor wit mesur wide.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4082 Hise hore bi-neðe and him abuuen.

1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 43 Whiche Ryft..appereth by nethe.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 183 It droppeth as the gentle raine from heauen vpon the place beneath .

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 97 High o're the Gate..The Crowd shall Cæsar's Indian War behold; The Nile shall flow beneath .

1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country ii. 108 Shaggy eyebrows elevate With twinkling apprehension in each orb Beneath.

b. Under some covering or surface, underneath; underground, under the earth.

ΚΠ

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 131 Lat delue vnder þe fundement, & þou schalt bineþe fynde A waterpol.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Job xviii. 16 The rootis of hym be maad drie bynethe.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy v. 1609 The water..clensit by ocurse all þe clene Cite Of filth and of feum, throughe fletyng by nethe.

1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xxxi. 37 If..the foundations of the earth [can be] searched out beneath .

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 110 Spread with Straw, the bedding of thy Fold; With Fern beneath .

4. Lower down on a slope, or in the course of a river. rare. Now below adv. 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > [adverb] > lower down

beneath1393

below1549

the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [adverb] > downstream

downstream1591

beneath1650

below1810

downriver1820

1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 161 On the mount of Parasie..And eke beneth in the valey.

1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. i. 62 The stopping of the waters [of Jordan] above must necessarily command their defection beneath.

5. Down or lower in fortune, station, dignity, rank, or quality. archaic.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [adverb]

beneathc1000

low1340

meanlya1500

baselya1529

above (or below, beneath, under) the salt1597

c1000 Ælfric Deut. xxviii. 13 Þu bist æfre bufan and na beniþan.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4906 Ȝif mi cun clembeð. & bi-neoðen [c1300 Otho bi-neoþe] þe ibringeð.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 258 An batayle at Elendone hii smyte..Þe Kyng Bernulf was þere byneþe, & bynome al ys bost.

c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 53 Þe pope, cardinalis, bischopis, & oþer prelats be neþe, are disciplis of anticrist.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Deut. xxviii. 13 Thou shalt be aboue onely, and not benethe [ Wyclif, vndur; 1611 beneath].

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 131 That next [is disdain'd] by him beneath .

B. prep. (with object expressed)The prepositional use of beneath seems originally to have been introduced to express the general notion of ‘lower than,’ as distinguished from the specific sense of under n. But in process of time beneath was so largely used for under, that below v. was laid hold of to express the more general idea. In ordinary spoken English, under and below now cover the whole field (below tending naturally to overlap the territory of under), leaving beneath more or less as a literary and slightly archaic equivalent of both (in some senses), but especially of under. The only senses in which beneath is preferred are 7 (‘beneath contempt’), and figurative uses of 4 (e.g. ‘to fall beneath the assaults of temptation’).

†1. gen. In a position down from or lower than. Obsolete or archaic. Now expressed by below prep. 1. †beneath stair: = below stairs.

ΚΠ

a900 Pol. Laws Ælfred §63 in Thorpe I. 96 Gif se sconca biþ þyrel beneoðan cnéowe.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7476 Heo bar bi-neoðen [c1300 Otho bi-neoþe] hire titten. ane guldene ampulle.

c1305 St. Edm. Conf. 164 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 75 He was byneþe his brech igurd faste ynouȝ.

c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §25. 34 By-nethe the Orisonte.

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 26 For all beneath the Moone Would I not leape vpright.

1631 T. Powell Tom of All Trades 168 The chiefest hand in preferring to any office beneath stayer.

a. Directly down from, overhung or surmounted by; under, underneath.

ΚΠ

a1200 Moral Ode in Lamb. Hom. He is buuen us and binoþen . biforen and bihinden.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 226 Bineoðen us..þe wide þrote of helle.

1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 119 Aboue vs, bynethe vs.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 181 You'le be found, Be you beneath the Sky.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 93 Lands that lye beneath another Sun.

1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 13 The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade.

1820 J. Keats Isabella in Lamia & Other Poems 49 They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleep.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Audley Court in Poems (new ed.) II. 45 We..saunter'd home beneath a moon..In crescent.

b. At the base or foot of (a wall, cliff, etc.).

ΚΠ

1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (1865) I. 209 Hercules, Italus his sone, bulde a citee..by neþe þe Capitol.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Exod. xxxii. 19 [He] brake them beneth [ Wyclif, at the rotes of] the mount.

1808 W. Scott Marmion i. iii. 25 Beneath the sable palisade..His bugle-horn he blew.

1870 R. Anderson Hist. Missions Amer. Board II. viii. 61 In a frail canoe beneath a tall cliff overhanging the sea.

a. Immediately under, in contact with the under side of; covered by; under, underneath.

ΚΠ

1611 Bible (King James) Deut. v. 8 The waters beneath the earth.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 124 In Chambers of their own, beneath the Ground.

1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 651 One Hand she plac'd Beneath his Beard.

1720 A. Pope Epitaph Rowe in Misc. Poems I. 176 Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies.

1726 J. Dyer Grongar Hill in New Misc. 82 So oft I have..Sate..With my Hand beneath my Head.

1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 275 The brown red grass Rustling beneath your feet.

1828 R. Knox tr. H. Cloquet Syst. Human Anat. 322 The axilla..is the angle or cavity that lies beneath the junction of the arm with the shoulder.

1854 A. Jameson Bk. of Th. (1877) 34 No wise man kicks the ladder from beneath him.

b. Hence: Farther from (the surface); covered or concealed by; inside of, behind. More commonly under n.

ΚΠ

1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons (new ed.) 86 Thou art no Ruffian, who beneath the Mask Of social Commerce com'st to rob their Wealth.

1863 E. V. Neale Analogy Thought & Nature 192 Beneath the movement of self-assertion appears the repose of self-government.

1871 H. R. Haweis Music & Morals (1874) 7 The Musician's art lies beneath the surface.

1882 A. P. Stanley Christian Inst. (ed. 3) viii. 156 A woollen vest, which sometimes had beneath it another fitting close to the skin.

4. ‘Under, as overborne or overwhelmed by some pressure’ (Johnson); often figurative subject to, under subjection to, under the influence, action, or control of.

ΚΠ

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 491 There he broȝte al binethe hom that were is fon.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. iii. 40 Our Country sinkes beneath the yoake.

1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 137 The comprehension made by the Senses..omits nothing that can fall beneath it.

1719 E. Young Busiris i. 3 Elephants..Bending beneath a Weight of Luxury.

1792 Munchausen's Trav. Thou shalt instant perish 'neath my potent arm.

1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iv. 402 Thou shouldst set forth Beneath another's guidance.

1800 R. Bloomfield Spring in Farmer's Boy 15 Brisk goes the work beneath each busy hand.

1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 43 The carved work mouldered fast 'Neath the suns, and the frosts.

†5. Lower on a slope, in a valley, etc., than; = below prep. 3. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1551 W. Turner Herball (1568) 53 I went by the Rhene side iiij miles beneth Bingen.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 355 Her barbarous Sons..spread Beneath Gibraltar to the Lybian sands.

1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 68 Obstructions in all Navigable Rivers beneath the first Bridges.

1705 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 2) I. iii. 466 A Quarter of a Mile beneath the Village..is the fallen Ruines of the Tower of Babel.

6. figurative. Lower in the scale of being, station, rank, excellence, or dignity. Now commonly below v.

ΚΠ

a1000 Metr. Boeth. xx. 444 Hio biþ swiðe fior hire selfre beneoðan.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10729 To settenn þe Bineþenn þine lahȝhre.

c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. v. 49 It is brouȝt byneþen all bestes.

c1375 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. (1869) I. 15 Creatures bineþe men.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. i. 10 Not beneath him in Fortunes.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 115 That were an ignominy..beneath This downfall.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 163. ¶4 Beings above and beneath us have probably no Opinions at all.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 421 Beneath them lay a large class which could not subsist without some aid from the parish.

a. Unbefitting the dignity of; unworthy of, unbeseeming, undeserving of; lowering to.

ΚΠ

c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxvi. §5 Nis nán wuht benyðan him [i.e. beneath his notice].

c1380 J. Wyclif De Pseudo-freris vi. (1880) 310 Talis byneþe bileeue.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) v. i. 320 So farre beneath your soft and tender breeding.

1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 53. ⁋10 We do not esteem it beneath us to return you our Royal thanks.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. vi. 227 No woman..ought to think it beneath her to be an œconomist.

1871 H. R. Haweis Music & Morals 499 Beneath the attention of serious critics.

1883 Times 23 Oct. 9 Thinking nothing beneath the notice of a man of business.

b. Lower than (any standard of quantity or quality). Better expressed by below v.

ΚΠ

1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. i. 19 We are none of us so good architects as to be able to work habitually beneath our strength.

1850 J. McCosh Method Divine Govt. (ed. 2) ii. i. 139 The copies ever fall beneath the original.

†C. adj.

Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > earth > [adjective]

earthya1398

subcelestial1561

terrestrial1597

sublunary1609

beneatha1616

terrene1635

subsidereal1636

under-celestial1640

subsolar1648

subsolary1661

planetary1831

earthside1951

Terran1953

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) i. i. 44 A man Whom this beneath world doth embrace.

Compounds

† beneath-forth n. Obsolete out from beneath; beneath.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > under

underc825

thereunderc897

beneath?c1225

beneath-forth1398

hereunder1639

subjacently1874

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) vii. xlvii. 259 A stronge colde in the mouthe of the stomak..is cause of out puttynge bineth forthe.

c1410 N. Love tr. Bonaventura Mirror Life Christ xxvi. 56 Thyng þat longeth to þe worlde..here byneth forthe.

c1467 Ord. Worcester in Eng. Gilds (1870) 373 In one of the Chambers benethforth.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	beneath
释义	beneathadv.prep.adj. /bɪˈniːθ/ Forms: Old English beniþan, beneoðan, benyðan, Middle English bi-neoðen, bineoþen, bineðen, binoþen, ( Orm.) bineþenn, Middle English bi-neoðe, bineoþe, bineðe, Middle English bi-neþe(n, Middle English binethen, by-neþen, byneathe, be-nyþe, Middle English by-nethen, by-neþe, beneþe, Middle English–1500s bynethe, Middle English byneithe, bineth, Middle English–1500s by-, beneth(e, Middle English– beneath; 1700s– 'neath. Etymology: Old English bi-niðan , be-neoðan , < bi- be- prefix + niðan, neoðan ‘below, down,’ originally ‘from below,’ earlier neoðane , neoðone , = Old Saxon nithana , Old High German nidana , Middle High German niden(e , modern German nieden , < Germanic niþar ‘lower, farther down, down’: see nether adj. and n. + adverbial ending -ana, originally expressing motion ‘from.’ The be- gave or emphasized the notion of ‘where,’ excluding that of ‘whence’ pertaining to the simple niðan. The modern 'neath is abbreviated < beneath. Originally an adverb, but already in Old English construed with dative (of reference), as a preposition. A. adv. 1. a. gen. In a low position relatively to some other place; in a lower position; low or lower down; downward; = below adv. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > low down or below anunderOE nethenOE underneathc1000 beneath?c1225 theredown1297 alowc1400 belowc1400 at-lowa1500 aneath?1800 ablow1829 underfoot1886 the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > under underc825 thereunderc897 beneath?c1225 beneath-forth1398 hereunder1639 subjacently1874 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 286 Brad ase scheld buuen..naru bineoðen. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12781 Ofte wes þe drake buuen and eft seoððen bineoþen [c1300 Otho bi-neoþe]. c1305 St. Kenelm 127 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 51 On of his beste freond..In þe grounde stod byneþe. 1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle (1483) iv. xxxiv. 82 As well of tho that ben bynethen as tho that ben aboue. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy xiii. 5529 A mon fro þe myddell vp, And fro the nauyll by-neithe, vne an abill horse. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iv. 55 + 4 And heares it [sc. the sea] rore beneath. 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 122 To the girdle doe the gods inherit, beneath is all the fiends. View more context for this quotation 1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iii. 298 Pure water in a font beneath reflects The many-colour'd rays. †b. Lower on a written or printed page; = below adv. 5. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > below or hereafter (in a later part of a book, etc.) hereafterc900 aftereOE innermorea1387 under1389 underneath1389 hereunder1425 below1645 beneath1668 post1688 infra1740 overleaf1742 therein after1818 over1893 854 Chart. Æthelwulf in Cod. Dipl. V. 106 Ðara naman her beneoðan awritene standað. 1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. xxvii. 64 Of which see other Anatomists..and my father Bartholinus beneath. 2. With reference to certain understood points: †a. Beneath the skies; in the world, on the earth. Obsolete or archaic; expressed by below adv. 2a. ΚΠ a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 10 Ðan sal him almigtin luuen Her bil-neðen and..abuuen. 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5055 We synful..bynethe on þe erthe. 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Exod. xx. 4 In heuene aboue, and..in erthe benethe [so in 1611]. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xx. 242 Say youre prayers here byneth. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) John viii. f. cxxxij^v Ye are from beneth, I am from above. 1875 R. Browning Aristophanes' Apol. 106 Our world beneath Shows..grimly gross.] b. Beneath the earth; in Hades, in hell. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > hell > [adverb] > under the earth or in hell beneath1340 below1555 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5408 Helle bynethen..Sal þan be open. 1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xiv. 9 Hell from beneath is mooued for thee. View more context for this quotation a1736 T. Yalden On Re-printing Milton's Prose Wks. in Wks. Eng. Poets (1810) XI. 74/1 The dread abyss beneath, Hell's horrid mansions. 3. a. Directly below; underneath. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > earth > [adverb] > on earth beneatha1300 below the moonc1300 under the moon (also anunder moon)c1300 below?1520 the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > low down or below > directly below beneatha1300 a1300 Cursor Mundi 1681 Þu sal bi-neþ en on þe side Mak a dor wit mesur wide. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4082 Hise hore bi-neðe and him abuuen. 1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 43 Whiche Ryft..appereth by nethe. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 183 It droppeth as the gentle raine from heauen vpon the place beneath . View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 97 High o're the Gate..The Crowd shall Cæsar's Indian War behold; The Nile shall flow beneath . View more context for this quotation 1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country ii. 108 Shaggy eyebrows elevate With twinkling apprehension in each orb Beneath. b. Under some covering or surface, underneath; underground, under the earth. ΚΠ 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 131 Lat delue vnder þe fundement, & þou schalt bineþe fynde A waterpol. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Job xviii. 16 The rootis of hym be maad drie bynethe. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy v. 1609 The water..clensit by ocurse all þe clene Cite Of filth and of feum, throughe fletyng by nethe. 1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xxxi. 37 If..the foundations of the earth [can be] searched out beneath . View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 110 Spread with Straw, the bedding of thy Fold; With Fern beneath . View more context for this quotation 4. Lower down on a slope, or in the course of a river. rare. Now below adv. 3. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > [adverb] > lower down beneath1393 below1549 the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [adverb] > downstream downstream1591 beneath1650 below1810 downriver1820 1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 161 On the mount of Parasie..And eke beneth in the valey. 1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. i. 62 The stopping of the waters [of Jordan] above must necessarily command their defection beneath. 5. Down or lower in fortune, station, dignity, rank, or quality. archaic. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [adverb] beneathc1000 low1340 meanlya1500 baselya1529 above (or below, beneath, under) the salt1597 c1000 Ælfric Deut. xxviii. 13 Þu bist æfre bufan and na beniþan. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4906 Ȝif mi cun clembeð. & bi-neoðen [c1300 Otho bi-neoþe] þe ibringeð. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 258 An batayle at Elendone hii smyte..Þe Kyng Bernulf was þere byneþe, & bynome al ys bost. c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 53 Þe pope, cardinalis, bischopis, & oþer prelats be neþe, are disciplis of anticrist. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Deut. xxviii. 13 Thou shalt be aboue onely, and not benethe [ Wyclif, vndur; 1611 beneath]. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 131 That next [is disdain'd] by him beneath . View more context for this quotation B. prep. (with object expressed)The prepositional use of beneath seems originally to have been introduced to express the general notion of ‘lower than,’ as distinguished from the specific sense of under n. But in process of time beneath was so largely used for under, that below v. was laid hold of to express the more general idea. In ordinary spoken English, under and below now cover the whole field (below tending naturally to overlap the territory of under), leaving beneath more or less as a literary and slightly archaic equivalent of both (in some senses), but especially of under. The only senses in which beneath is preferred are 7 (‘beneath contempt’), and figurative uses of 4 (e.g. ‘to fall beneath the assaults of temptation’). †1. gen. In a position down from or lower than. Obsolete or archaic. Now expressed by below prep. 1. †beneath stair: = below stairs. ΚΠ a900 Pol. Laws Ælfred §63 in Thorpe I. 96 Gif se sconca biþ þyrel beneoðan cnéowe. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7476 Heo bar bi-neoðen [c1300 Otho bi-neoþe] hire titten. ane guldene ampulle. c1305 St. Edm. Conf. 164 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 75 He was byneþe his brech igurd faste ynouȝ. c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §25. 34 By-nethe the Orisonte. 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 26 For all beneath the Moone Would I not leape vpright. View more context for this quotation 1631 T. Powell Tom of All Trades 168 The chiefest hand in preferring to any office beneath stayer. 2. a. Directly down from, overhung or surmounted by; under, underneath. ΚΠ a1200 Moral Ode in Lamb. Hom. He is buuen us and binoþen . biforen and bihinden. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 226 Bineoðen us..þe wide þrote of helle. 1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 119 Aboue vs, bynethe vs. a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 181 You'le be found, Be you beneath the Sky. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 93 Lands that lye beneath another Sun. View more context for this quotation 1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 13 The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade. 1820 J. Keats Isabella in Lamia & Other Poems 49 They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleep. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Audley Court in Poems (new ed.) II. 45 We..saunter'd home beneath a moon..In crescent. b. At the base or foot of (a wall, cliff, etc.). ΚΠ 1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (1865) I. 209 Hercules, Italus his sone, bulde a citee..by neþe þe Capitol. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Exod. xxxii. 19 [He] brake them beneth [ Wyclif, at the rotes of] the mount. 1808 W. Scott Marmion i. iii. 25 Beneath the sable palisade..His bugle-horn he blew. 1870 R. Anderson Hist. Missions Amer. Board II. viii. 61 In a frail canoe beneath a tall cliff overhanging the sea. 3. a. Immediately under, in contact with the under side of; covered by; under, underneath. ΚΠ 1611 Bible (King James) Deut. v. 8 The waters beneath the earth. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 124 In Chambers of their own, beneath the Ground. View more context for this quotation 1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 651 One Hand she plac'd Beneath his Beard. 1720 A. Pope Epitaph Rowe in Misc. Poems I. 176 Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies. 1726 J. Dyer Grongar Hill in New Misc. 82 So oft I have..Sate..With my Hand beneath my Head. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 275 The brown red grass Rustling beneath your feet. 1828 R. Knox tr. H. Cloquet Syst. Human Anat. 322 The axilla..is the angle or cavity that lies beneath the junction of the arm with the shoulder. 1854 A. Jameson Bk. of Th. (1877) 34 No wise man kicks the ladder from beneath him. b. Hence: Farther from (the surface); covered or concealed by; inside of, behind. More commonly under n. ΚΠ 1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons (new ed.) 86 Thou art no Ruffian, who beneath the Mask Of social Commerce com'st to rob their Wealth. 1863 E. V. Neale Analogy Thought & Nature 192 Beneath the movement of self-assertion appears the repose of self-government. 1871 H. R. Haweis Music & Morals (1874) 7 The Musician's art lies beneath the surface. 1882 A. P. Stanley Christian Inst. (ed. 3) viii. 156 A woollen vest, which sometimes had beneath it another fitting close to the skin. 4. ‘Under, as overborne or overwhelmed by some pressure’ (Johnson); often figurative subject to, under subjection to, under the influence, action, or control of. ΚΠ 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 491 There he broȝte al binethe hom that were is fon. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. iii. 40 Our Country sinkes beneath the yoake. View more context for this quotation 1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 137 The comprehension made by the Senses..omits nothing that can fall beneath it. 1719 E. Young Busiris i. 3 Elephants..Bending beneath a Weight of Luxury. 1792 Munchausen's Trav. Thou shalt instant perish 'neath my potent arm. 1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iv. 402 Thou shouldst set forth Beneath another's guidance. 1800 R. Bloomfield Spring in Farmer's Boy 15 Brisk goes the work beneath each busy hand. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 43 The carved work mouldered fast 'Neath the suns, and the frosts. †5. Lower on a slope, in a valley, etc., than; = below prep. 3. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1551 W. Turner Herball (1568) 53 I went by the Rhene side iiij miles beneth Bingen. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 355 Her barbarous Sons..spread Beneath Gibraltar to the Lybian sands. View more context for this quotation 1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 68 Obstructions in all Navigable Rivers beneath the first Bridges. 1705 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 2) I. iii. 466 A Quarter of a Mile beneath the Village..is the fallen Ruines of the Tower of Babel. 6. figurative. Lower in the scale of being, station, rank, excellence, or dignity. Now commonly below v. ΚΠ a1000 Metr. Boeth. xx. 444 Hio biþ swiðe fior hire selfre beneoðan. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10729 To settenn þe Bineþenn þine lahȝhre. c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. v. 49 It is brouȝt byneþen all bestes. c1375 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. (1869) I. 15 Creatures bineþe men. a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. i. 10 Not beneath him in Fortunes. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 115 That were an ignominy..beneath This downfall. View more context for this quotation 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 163. ¶4 Beings above and beneath us have probably no Opinions at all. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 421 Beneath them lay a large class which could not subsist without some aid from the parish. 7. a. Unbefitting the dignity of; unworthy of, unbeseeming, undeserving of; lowering to. ΚΠ c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxvi. §5 Nis nán wuht benyðan him [i.e. beneath his notice]. c1380 J. Wyclif De Pseudo-freris vi. (1880) 310 Talis byneþe bileeue. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) v. i. 320 So farre beneath your soft and tender breeding. View more context for this quotation 1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 53. ⁋10 We do not esteem it beneath us to return you our Royal thanks. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. vi. 227 No woman..ought to think it beneath her to be an œconomist. 1871 H. R. Haweis Music & Morals 499 Beneath the attention of serious critics. 1883 Times 23 Oct. 9 Thinking nothing beneath the notice of a man of business. b. Lower than (any standard of quantity or quality). Better expressed by below v. ΚΠ 1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. i. 19 We are none of us so good architects as to be able to work habitually beneath our strength. 1850 J. McCosh Method Divine Govt. (ed. 2) ii. i. 139 The copies ever fall beneath the original. †C. adj. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > earth > [adjective] earthya1398 subcelestial1561 terrestrial1597 sublunary1609 beneatha1616 terrene1635 subsidereal1636 under-celestial1640 subsolar1648 subsolary1661 planetary1831 earthside1951 Terran1953 a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) i. i. 44 A man Whom this beneath world doth embrace. View more context for this quotation Compounds † beneath-forth n. Obsolete out from beneath; beneath. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > low position > [adverb] > under underc825 thereunderc897 beneath?c1225 beneath-forth1398 hereunder1639 subjacently1874 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) vii. xlvii. 259 A stronge colde in the mouthe of the stomak..is cause of out puttynge bineth forthe. c1410 N. Love tr. Bonaventura Mirror Life Christ xxvi. 56 Thyng þat longeth to þe worlde..here byneth forthe. c1467 Ord. Worcester in Eng. Gilds (1870) 373 In one of the Chambers benethforth. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adv.prep.adj.854
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