under-

▪ I. under-, prefix¹
    (ˈʌndə(r))
    representing OE. under-, = OS. undar-, OHG. untar-, ON. undir-, etc. (see under prep.). In OE. about eighty words with this prefix are recorded, but only fifteen or sixteen of these are of frequent occurrence. Of the total number about fifty are verbs, and twenty-five nouns, the adjectives being few and rare. In OHG. there are also many examples both of verbs and nouns, in ON. of nouns only; on the other hand there are few recorded examples in OS., and none in Gothic.
    2. In OE. (as in OHG.) a considerable number of the compounds with under- were clearly suggested by Latin forms with sub- (suc-, etc.) and occur only as renderings of these, e.g. underberan, supportare, sustinere; underbéᵹed, subjectus; underbrǽdan, -breᵹdan, substernere; undercerrende, subvertens; undercuman, subvenire. The frequency of such forms no doubt contributed greatly to establish the vogue of the prefix in ordinary use. The practice of rendering L. sub- by under- is extensively followed in the earlier Wycliffite version of the Bible, and gives rise to a large number of unique or unusual forms, as underburn, -cry, -drench, -grow, -heave, -hile, -join, -laugh, -lead, -minister, -mow, etc., which are illustrated below, together with some others occurring in the anonymous translation of the Pauline Epistles. Similar examples are occasionally found in other ME. translated texts, as underorn, -slake (q.v.), after L. subornare, summitigare.

1382 Wyclif Nahum ii. 13 And Y shal *vndre brenne [L. succendam] thi cartis of foure horsis.

― Gen. xxxix. 14 Whanne Y hadde *vndercried [L. succlamassem],..he forsoke the mantil that I heelde. ― Luke xxiii. 21 Thei vndircryeden [L. succlamabant], seyinge, Crucifie, crucifie him.

― Exod. xv. 10 The see couerde hem; and thei ben *vnder dreynt [L. submersi] as leed in hidows watris.

a 1400 Pauline Ep. (Powell) Gal. ii. 4 Þe false breþerene þe whyche *vndyrentredyn [L. subintroierunt] to spye oure freenesse þat we hafe in iesu crist.

1382 Wyclif Gen. xxvi. 13 He ȝede profytynge and *vndurgrowynge [L. succrescens] to the tyme that he was maad hugeli greet.

― Exod. xxiii. 5 If thow se an asse of hym that hatith thee lye vnder the charge,..thow shalt *vnderheue [L. sublevabis] with hym.

― Num. xii. 14 Whether shulde she not..seuen days with reednes be *vnder⁓hilid [L. suffundi]?

― Ps. Prol., Heer also is taȝt..what bi penaunce be purchasid, whan he *vnderioyneth, ‘I shal teche wicke men thi weies’.

― Ecclus. xiii. 7 And *vnder laȝhende [L. subridens] hope he shal ȝyue, tellende to thee alle goodes.

― Ezek. xxiii. 3 There the breestis..of hem ben *vndirled [L. subacta].

― Ecclus. xxxix. 39 Alle the werkes of the Lord [are] good; and ech werk in his hour shal *vndermynestren [L. subministrabit]. ― 1 Tim. v. 10 If she vndirmynistride to men suffringe tribulacioun.

a 1400 Pauline Ep. (Powell) Eph. iv. 16 On whom alle þe body is..knyt to gydere by alle þe ioynture of *vndermynystracion [L. subministrationis].

1382 Wyclif Ps. xxxiv. 16 Thei *vndermouwiden [L. subsannaverunt] me with vnder⁓mouwing.

― Rom. Prol., He writeth therfore to the Romaynes, the whiche..wolden with proud contencioun *vnderpoten either other.

― Gen. xxvii. 36 Now secounde he hath *vnder rauyshide [L. surripuit] my benysoun.

― 1 Sam. ii. 7 The Lord..mekith, and *vndurrerith [L. sublevat].

― Acts xxvii. 4 We *vndirsailiden [L. subnavigavimus] to Cypre, for that wyndis weren contrarie.

― Acts xxvii. 17 The vessel *vndirsent [L. summisso], so thei were borun.

a 1400 Pauline Ep. (Powell) Col. ii. 19 Þe hed, of whom alle þe body is bildid in to one þurgh coniunccions and *vnderseruyd [L. subministratum] þurgh þe bondys of charite.

1382 Wyclif Eph. iv. 16 Al the body sett to gidere, and boundyn to gidere by ech ioynture of *vndir⁓seruyng [L. subministrationis].

― Deut. xxxii. 22 Fier is *vndurtent [L. succensus] in my woodnes. ― Ps. xvii. 9 Colis ben vndertend of hym.

― Dan. viii. 3 Oo wether..hauynge heeȝ horns, and oon heeȝer than an other, and *vndrewexinge [L. succrescens].

― 1 Sam. Prol., Fro thens thei *vndurweuyden Sophym, that is, the book of Jugis.

― Gen. xxvii. 37 Alle his britheren I haue *vndir ȝockid [L. subjugavi] to the seruyce of hym. ― Nehemiah v. 5 We han vnder ȝokid our sonus and oure doȝtris in to seruage.

    3. In combination both with verbs and with nouns various senses of the prefix were already developed in OE., and further variations have arisen in the later language, the starting-point for new developments being usually the Elizabethan period. In most of its senses under- can be freely employed to form new compounds, the meaning of which is obvious except when they are used in some special or technical connexion. In some of these general types under- is correlative to over-, and not infrequently the actual compound in under- is entirely due to the previous use of one in over-.
    In the following sections a number of the more casual formations are given by way of illustration; those which have a more permanent character, or which for some reason require special treatment, are entered in their alphabetical places as main words. The uses which are most capable of giving rise to new formations, of which complete enumeration is impossible, are 4 a, 5, 6, 9, 10 a, b. Altogether the senses of the prefix may be classed under four heads:— I. Denoting local position.
    4. With verbs. The following variations are found in OE. and in the later language: a. Denoting action (or continuance of a state) carried on under or beneath something, as OE. underberan to support from below, underdelfan to dig beneath, underetan to eat away, to sap, underiernan to run beneath, etc., ME. undercut, -dig, -grow, -hole, -mine, -pitch, -shore, -strew, and the later underbind, -brace, -build, -gird, -hew, etc. b. Denoting the action of moving so as to be or to get under something, as OE. underflówan to flow under, underhn{iacu}ᵹan to descend beneath, underscéotan to pass under; ME. undercreep; also with causative force, as OE. underbreᵹdan to spread under, underdón to put under, understingan, to thrust under, ME. underput, -set. Additions to this group are not frequent in the later language, but occur in undercrawl, -dive, -run, -work, and with slight variation of sense in underpeep, -peer. c. Rarely, the sense of ‘from below’ is found, as in underpeep, redden, -shine.
    In the dictionaries of Florio (1611) and Hexham (1647), under- is used in the above senses to form a number of compounds which are merely suggested by Italian forms in sog-, sop-, sot(to)- and Dutch in onder-, as underbend, -knit, -loft, -mark, -note, -roof (Florio), underfume, -gripe, -lift, -press, -smoke (Hexham). In addition to verbs, the following miscellaneous examples include instances of the ppl. adj. and agent-noun.

c 1900 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 142 (Cent. Suppl.), The building is very solidly built, but *undercellared only.

1890 J. Nasmith Cotton Spinning Mach. x. 148 The ‘*under clearer’ spring is attached to the roller beam. 1892 ― Students' Cotton Spinning ix. 329 An underclearer D{p}, is sustained below the bottom front rollers.

1883 A. Dobson Old-World Idylls, Dead Letter iii, Bonzes with squat legs *undercurled.

1828–32 Webster, *Underditch, v.t., to form a deep ditch or trench to drain the surface of land.

1904 Nature 13 Oct. 593/2 An *underfolded and underthrust knot of younger strata.

a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, *Under-grub, to undermine.

1808 Coleridge Lett., to T. Jeffrey (1895) 537 When I first wrote it I *undermarked it.

1839 Q. Rev. LXIII. 415 No accuracy in *underpiling the platform is thus practicable.

1846 tr. Port Royal Method Grk. Tongue 8 The three *under-pointed [Greek vowels], ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ.

1866 G. M. Hopkins Jrnls. & Papers (1959) 138 The meadows yellow with buttercups and *under-reddened with sorrel.

1864 Kingsley Roman & T. p. liv, We shall believe not merely in an over-ruling Providence, but (if I may dare to coin a word) in an *under-ruling one.

1800 J. Hurdis Fav. Village 132 Behold! where now he *undersaps the sward.

1846 Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. I. 472/2 One hath fallen the moment when he had reached the last step of the ladder, having *undersawed it for him who went before.

1877 Blackie Wise Men 119 The hidden working of the travelling fire That *underscoops the earth.

1879 Lanier Poems, To B. Taylor 2 To range, deep-wrapt, along a heavenly height, O'erseeing all that man but *undersees.

1885 W. K. Parker Mammalian Descent vii. 169 We have a..ploughshare bone large and long in proportion to the..beam which it *under⁓splices.

1889 Voice (N.Y.) 28 Nov., A pure serious aim *undersweeps his work and comes out in it like a transfiguration.

1893 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. XLV. 306 (heading), *Underthrust Folds and Faults.

    d. A noun of action with under- may have the same form as the verb, as undercut, -gnaw, -hang, -lay, -lie, -lift, -mine, -run, -score, -spin, -thrust.

1895 J. J. Raven Hist. Suffolk 1 The coast line has suffered, and still suffers, from the constant undergnaw of the German Ocean.

    5. With nouns: a. In names of garments worn under other articles of clothing, found in OE. underhw{iacu}tel, -syrc, but not common till the 16th century, when undercap, -forebody, -frock, -garment, -girdle, -sleeve occur. The following are examples of recent or less usual compounds.
    Contrasted with over 8 c, and in modern use sometimes replaced by sub- 3.

1873 Young Englishwoman Apr. 194/1 (heading) *Under⁓bodice of jaconet, insertion, and lace. 1895 Daily News 24 Dec. 6/3 The chiffon under-bodice being visible between the two sides.

1611 Florio, Sottomanto, an *vnder-cloake, a Cassocke.

1894 ‘G. Egerton’ Keynotes 177 They [sc. trousers] ruck up at the knees, and show the end line of his *under-drawers quite plainly.

1859 Habits of Gd. Society iii. 144, I should like to know how often the advocates of linen change their own *under-flannel.

1960 ‘E. McBain’ See them Die (1963) iii. 28 Murchison..tugged at his *undershorts, and wondered if it was any cooler upstairs. 1978 W. F. Buckley Stained Glass xii. 129 She had opened the door, exhilarated at the prospect of seeing Paul lying there as she so regularly came on him, dressed only in his undershorts.

1922 Joyce Ulysses 321 The bride..looked exquisitely charming in a creation carried out in green mercerised silk, moulded on an *underslip of gloaming grey. 1968 B. Hines Kestrel for Knave 23 His mother was standing in her underslip, a lipstick poised at her mouth.

1857 in A. V. G. Allen Life Phillips Brooks (1900) I. vi. 209 Thick winter *underwaists and socks. a 1911 D. G. Phillips in Hearst's Mag. (1916) Feb. 137/1 She bought a pair of shoes for a dollar,..two underwaists for a quarter.

    b. Denoting that the thing specified is either placed below something else, or is the lower in position of two similar things; the two cases are only clearly distinguishable when it is usual for the things to go in pairs. The use is very rare in OE. and ME., but begins to extend in the 16th century and is common from the 17th. When pairs of things are contrasted, under- becomes equivalent to lower (as over- to upper), and readily assumes an adjectival function: see under a. 1 b.

1878 P. H. Carpenter in Quart. Jrnl. Microsc. Sc. XVIII. 366, I shall shortly show that these second or *under basals are also present in the calyx of Pentacrinus briareus.

1889 Science-Gossip XXV. 261/1 A starling was found..having its *under-beak evidently shot off.

1611 Cotgr., Soupoultreau, an *vnder-beame.

1862 in Veness El Dorado (1866) App. 140 An *under-box for a pump.

1707 Mortimer Husb. 363 To rub off all the *Under-buds, leaving only a few near the top to draw up the Sap.

1738 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Letter, Printers distinguish their letters into capital..or upper-case letters,..and minuscule, small, or *under-case letters.

1890 J. Nasmith Cotton Spinning Mach. Index, *Undercasings for carding machine. 1892 ― Students' Cotton Spinning iv. 112 The relative position of the..knives and undercasing.

1690 C. Nesse O. & N. Test. I. 23 If the outside and the *underceiling..of this glorious room be so glittering.

1875 W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 7 Many of these smugglers had *under-cellars in their houses of concealment.

1611 Florio, Sotto camera, an *vnder-chamber.

1906 Galsworthy Man of Property i. iii. 44 Between the points of his stand-up collar,..the pale flesh of his *underchin remained immovable. 1978 J. A. Michener Chesapeake 19 The geese [had]..jet-black head and neck, snow-white under-chin.

1805 Wordsw. Prel. vi. 227 Her exulting outside look of youth And placid *under-countenance.

1852 Mrs. Craik Agatha's Husb. xx. 281 He took out a paper,..tore it open—tore likewise an *under-cover addressed to his wife.

1845 M. Pattison S. Langton in Lives Eng. Saints vii. 124 A more honourable place..than the damp and dark *undercrypt.

1611 Florio, Sottotazza, an *vnder-cup of essay.

1897 Daily News 1 Jan. 6/6 After a diver has been down to examine the *under-fittings of the Delta.

1611 Cotgr., Beisle, th' Orelop, or *vnder-hatches, of a ship.

1867 A. J. Wilson Vashti xxxv, There were tears hanging..on the long jet *under-lashes.

1841 Florist's Jrnl. (1846) II. 266 They are natives of the table land of Mexico,..wholly below the *underlimit of frost.

1611 Florio, Sopalco, an *vnder-loft, or sellar, or seeling.

1895 Archæol. æliana XVII. ii. 287 It has apparently been moved..for use as an *underpacking when the Early English arcade was built.

1855 Poultry Chron. II. 498 How again can they avoid mistakes when half the birds are hidden in dark *under-pens?

1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 402 The Pedestal or *Under-Pilaster.

1871 tr. Schellen's Spectr. Anal. xxv. 87 This micrometer consists..of a sliding-plate,..[and] an *under⁓plate on which the first plate travels.

1598 Florio, Sopportico, an *vnderporch.

1839 Carlyle Lett. (1904) I. 158 Chorley's under jaw went like the hopper or *under-riddle..of a pair of fanners.

1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 234 *Under-rope [= S-rope, the winding rope which passes round the under side of the drum].

Ibid. 268 *Under-seams, lower or deeper coal seams.

1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 128 The Drip of their Heads falling upon their *Under-shoots.

1883 F. Day Indian Fish 28 Where large *under-sluices are present, fish can pass up such when open.

1843 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. VI. 265/2 A cross sheth..to be bolted down to the *undersole.

1877 Ruskin St. Mark's Rest iv. (1894) 49 With such solid *under-support that, from 1480 till now, it stands rain and frost!

1902 Westm. Gaz. 29 Jan. 9/2 A large Government order for 2,100 *undertrucks and 150 complete wagons.

1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 150 note, Attached to an operculum, or *undervalve.

    c. Denoting position below a surface or covering, or at a depth. Examples of this occur from the 17th century, but are not common until the 19th.

1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. i. 26, I hope that the *under⁓bottom ice exceeds that height.

1892 Meredith Poet. Wks. (1912) 325 There chimed a bubbled *underbrew With witch⁓wild spray of vocal dew.

1894 Crockett Raiders (ed. 3) 286 The rippling tide..swirling in the smooth places with an oily *underbubble.

1930 Engineering 15 Aug. 197/3 The [U.S.] War Department.. imposed the limiting conditions of 100 feet *under⁓clearance above the level of mean high water. 1967 Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 64/1 Riser bars may be used, depending on load underclearance.

1869 J. Martineau in Life (1902) I. 446 How curiously the religious tendency..finds an *under⁓course, and breaks out at unexpected points!

a 1930 D. H. Lawrence Last Poems (1932) 7 As if any Mind could have imagined a lobster dozing the *under-deeps.

1858 Caswall Poems 192 Up from the *underdepth unsearchable of primal Being.

1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 257 Hour after hour..we passed on, in the *under-gloom of the great forest.

1885 Mabel Collins Ld. Vanecourt's Dan. I. vi. 80 The light..brought out a warm *underglow in her hair.

a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, *Under-grup, an under-drain; a concealed water course in wet soils.

1611 Florio, Sotto⁓stanza, an *vnder-lodging.

1913 ― Love Poems & Others 27 And even in the watery shells that lie Alive within the oozy *under-mire, A grain of this same fire I can descry.

1943 Mind LII. 135 These instincts or reflexes are the second point of contact where behaviour science, factually though not methodologically, rests upon its biological *understructure. 1980 Dædalus Spring 99 Stories about dreams..often deliberately obfuscate the understructure of common sense.

1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. IV. v. xv. §2 The most fantastic..curves, governed by some grand *under-sweep like that of a tide.

1899 B. Capes Lady of Darkness xviii. 151 There must be *underwarmth somewhere for the surface so to flower into colour.

    d. Denoting something which is either covered (completely or partially) by, or is subordinate to, something of the same kind. An early example of this is underwood (1325), followed by undergrowth, -shrub (c 1600). Other examples are mostly of recent date, and show considerable extension of the usage, as in underfleece, -fur, -marking, etc.

1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts Ser. i. 420/1 The colour should be a trifle darker than the undergraining. 1901 Smithsonian Rep. 405 Where sheep have been allowed to graze..the under⁓vegetation is destroyed. 1909 Mrs. Smith Lewis Codex Climaci Rescr. Introd. p. xiii, The under-script of a palimpsest is seldom homogeneous. 1914 D. H. Lawrence in Eng. Rev. Feb. 305 And lamps like venturous glow-worms steal among The shadowy stubble of the under-dusk. 1916 ― Amores 137 Bright blue crops Surge from the under-dark to their ladder-tops. 1917 ― Look! We have come Through! 48 Over there is Russia—Austria, Switzerland, France, in a circle! I here in the undermist on the Bavarian road. Ibid. 120 Where the seed sinks in To the earth of the under-night Where all is silent. 1922 ― in Eng. Rev. June 509 Fishes, with their gold-red eyes, and green-pure gleam, and under-gold. 1923 ― Kangaroo i. 8 It..was like a whole country with towns and bays and darknesses. And all lying mysteriously within the Australian underdark, that peculiar lost, weary aloofness of Australia. 1929 ― Pansies 17 Twilight thick underdusk..While darkness submerges the stones. 1934 T. S. Eliot Elizabethan Essays 190 What distinguishes poetic drama from prosaic drama is a kind of doubleness... The drama has an under-pattern, less manifest than the theatrical one.

    e. With the sense of ‘situated on the under side’.

1888 Century Mag. XXXVI. 703/1 Its head and back are blue, its throat and breast red, and its underfeathering white. 1902 Cornish Naturalist Thames 45 The parti⁓coloured grey and yellow under-colouring of their wings.

    II. Denoting inferiority in rank or importance.
    6. a. With designations of persons, esp. of subordinate officers or officials. This use occurs in OE. in undercyning, -diacon, -ᵹeréfa, -ládtéow, -þéow, becomes common in ME., and is extensively employed from the latter part of the 16th century. The meaning is however as frequently expressed by sub- 5 a and 6.
    Examples of under- prefixed to a term of general import are rare, but underman occurs in the 14th cent., underbeing, underfellow in the 16th, underswain in the 17th.

1751 Eng. Gazetteer s.v. Preston, It..is governed by a mayor, recorder, 8 aldermen, 4 *under-aldermen.

1942 M. Harcourt Parson in Prison 20 The whole school was assembled before the *underbosses. 1964 Amer. Speech XXXIX. 305 Over each [Mafia] family presides a boss... Beneath the boss are an underboss, also known as sotto capo, and a consiglieri. 1972 N.Y. Times Mag. 4 June 95 In the restructured family on which Joe Colombo solidified his hold as boss, another tantalizing figure emerged, Charles (Charlie Lemons) Mineo... Mineo has become a unique kind of underboss.

1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii, *Under-Brigadier, Sou-Brigadier.

1611 Cotgr., Soubchantre, an *vnder-chaunter..inferiour to the head Chaunter.

1857 Livingstone Trav. (1861) 189 An imposing embassy from Masiko. It consisted of all his *underchiefs.

1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. ii, All the ‘lads’..had gone home for the night, with the exception of the *under-coachman.

1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. (1710) 569 A Chief-Crier, Two *Under-Criers, Two Ushers.

1846 Etheridge Syrian Churches 200 After which is read the Gospel in Syriac; an *underdeacon reading it in the vernacular Arabic.

1854 Poultry Chron. I. 265/1 Some competent feeder to look after the whole, and see that the *under-feeders..are constantly at work.

1891 Daily News 30 Nov. 6/6 The first footman..had an altercation with..an *under-footman.

1611 Cotgr., Subministrateur,..an *vnder⁓furnisher, an inferior officer.

1876 E. A. Abbott in Contemp. Rev. June 141 To serve him as *under-gamekeeper.

1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. (1710) 707 Edinburgh-Castle:..Master-Gunner,..6 *Under-Gunners.

1820 Scott Abbot iv, The famous university of Leyden, where they lack an *underjanitor.

1611 Florio, Sequestratore,..an *vnder⁓iudge, an arbitrator.

1898 Atlantic Monthly LXXXII. 474 The cooks and the under-cooks, the laundresses, the *under⁓laundress.

1852 Bailey Festus (ed. 5) 338 The more We feel of poesie do we become Like God in love and power,—*under⁓makers.

1818 M. W. Shelley Frankenst. ii. (1897) 6 Twice I actually hired myself as an *under-mate in a Greenland whaler.

1976 ‘W. Trevor’ Children of Dynmouth ii. 42 The *under⁓matron, Miss Tomm, had come into the dormitory and asked him to come with her to the study.

1839 J. Rogers Antipopopr. x. §2. 253 We read nothing in Holy Scripture about the submediation or the *undermediators.

1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey xxiii. 122 Rebecca was the *under-nurse.

1771 Ledwich Antiq. Sarisb. 223 He joined himself to..a tallow-chandler, as an *underpartner with him in the business.

1648 Hexham ii, Een Onder-Prioor, an *Vnder-Priour.

1818 Moore Fudge Fam. Paris vi. 32 Friends, whom his Lordship keeps in store, As *under-saviours of the nation.

1614 Selden Titles Honor 267 Earle, Churl, Thane, and *Underthane.

1559 J. Aylmer Harborowe L 2 b, Then must the hyghe Shrife be his frende: And the *vnderthefe (vndershrife I should saye) his man.

1748 W. Melmoth Fitzosborne Lett. lvi. (1749) II. 79 All that numerous *undertribe in the commonwealth of literature.

1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xiii, Just the post of *under-turnkey, for I understand there's a vacancy.

1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Sub-vicar, an *Under-Vicar.

1611 Cotgr., Arriere-vasseur, an vnder-vassall; or, an *vnder⁓villaine.

1657 J. Watts Vind. Ch. Eng. 125 The ministers are Christs *under-vine-dressers.

1854 Poultry Chron. I. 388/1 Abounding with game..which, by game-keepers and ‘*under-watchers’, was..rigorously preserved.

1880 *Under-waiter [see landlord n. 4]. 1921 E. M. Forster Let. 17 May in Hill of Devi (1953) 81 He worked like an under⁓waiter in a Soho restaurant.

    b. With other nouns, in the sense of ‘subordinate, subsidiary, minor’. An early instance of this is underhelp (1579); others, such as underaccident, -action, -cause, -ministry, etc., occur in the 17th cent. In later use the tendency is to employ either sub- (see sub- 5 b, c, d) or an adjective, but A. Tucker Light Nat. (1768) has under-aim, -plan, -scheme, -society, -species, -stage.

1598 Florio, Sottodistintione, an *vnder-distinction, or subdistinction.

1711 Swift Jrnl. Stella 28 Apr. (1901) 203 All the *under-hints there are mine too.

1691 Norris Pract. Disc. 205 The Desire of Happiness..governs all the *under⁓motions of the Man.

1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. v. 100 The Lathe and the Rape may represent the *undershires of the Heptarchic kingdom.

1648 Hexham ii, Onder-vooght, *Under-tuterage, or *Under-wardship.

    7. With verbs, denoting reduction to (or acceptance of) an inferior or subordinate standing. Chiefly OE., as underb{iacu}eᵹan to subject, underb{uacu}ᵹan to submit, underþéodan to subject, subjugate; and ME., as undercast, -put, -thew. See also undershining, -sphere, -study, -sweat, -thrown.
    Under- is rarely employed in the sense of sub- 9 (b); Florio (1611) has under-appoint rendering It. sottodelegare.
    III. In figurative senses.
    8. With verbs. a. In OE., various secondary meanings of under- are represented by such verbs as under(be)ᵹinnan to begin or attempt, underfón to receive, underᵹietan, -niman, -standan to understand, undersécan to investigate. Several of these survive in ME., as underfo, underᵹete, -nim, -stand, underseche; and a few more are added, as underfind, -grope, -take. In later examples the sense is usually that of (secret) investigation, as underfeel, -look, -search, -watch, or of unobserved action, as underhear. In addition to the verbs some agent-nouns occur, as under-dealer, -plotter, -puller.
    Florio (1611) renders It. sottosapere, -ridere by underknow, -smile.
    b. From the end of the 16th cent. under- is used with verbs in the sense of ‘below (= at a lower rate than) another person’, as in underbid, -buy, -sell, -spend, -work.
    c. Occasionally the sense is ‘to a point or degree below what is normal or customary’, as in undercooled, -hew.
    d. Very rarely, subordinate action is implied, as in underlet = sublet.
    9. With nouns, denoting actions, etc., which lie or are kept beneath the surface or in the background. An early instance is undercraft (c 1400); others occur from the 17th cent., as underdealing, -thought. Modern instances are chiefly of an individual character.

1857 Heavysege Saul (1869) 421 Thine eyeballs roll, As if from some great *under-agitation.

1830 Coleridge Church & State (1839) 274 A sort of *under-consciousness blends with our dreams.

1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta xix, Simply an *underfeeling I have that [etc.].

1863 Bp. S. Wilberforce in Life (1882) III. 100 The curious *under-history of Trench's appointment to the archbishopric.

1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. (1907) II. 207 There is a dull *underpain that survives the smart which it had aggravated.

1876 Mrs. Whitney Sights & Ins. II. iii. 362 To me, who felt an *underpulse in all these things, there was a plain perception [etc.].

1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. viii. 206 Barring a certain common fund of information, like the command of language, etc., what the upper self knows the *under self is ignorant of, and vice versa. 1914 W. De Morgan When Ghost meets Ghost ii. xvi. 662 This underself of hers may have vibrated in response to the strange hints he had thrown out.

1732 Sir C. Wogan Let. to Swift 27 Feb., A very grave phiz that carried a wicked *undersneer.

1893 Nation (N.Y.) 29 June 475/3 The effect is artistic, while the *undersuggestion is scientific.

1908 H. James Spoils of Poynton p. xxiii, An air of comedy comparatively free from sharp *under⁓tastes. 1980 R. B. Kitaj Artist's Eye (Nat. Gallery) 3 Their lives at the sinister heart of the Baudelairean city, the spell its compelling undertaste cast on them.

1805 Wordsw. Prel. vi. 558 Something of stern mood, an *under-thirst Of vigour seldom utterly allayed.

    b. With words denoting sound of a subdued or subordinate character, esp. when produced or perceived at the same time as a louder or more distinct sound. (See also underbreath, -song, -strain, -tone, -tune, -voice.)

1904 E. Rickert Reaper 10 He could hear the *underbeat of the surf on the rocks.

1863 Is. Williams Baptistery ii. xxiv. (1874) 102 Or deep Gregorian chaunt of plaintive *underchime.

1893 E. H. Barker Wand. Southern Waters 43 That continuous *undercry of the iron tongues.

1815 Scott Guy M. iv, She answered in the same tone of *under⁓dialogue.

1832 J. P. Kennedy Swallow B. xxi, Ducks and geese,..with a sedate *under-gabble, like that of old burghers in conversation.

1892 Meredith Poems, Spring 134 But now the common life has come;..The grasses one vast *underhum.

1859 Mrs. Craik Romantic Tales 182 The low, woman's voice, whose *under-melody,..lost amidst the tempests of life, was now needed to soothe its ending.

a 1835 Mrs. Hemans Poems, Flowers & Music (1875) 572, I..caught an *under-music of lament in the stream's voice.

1876 Meredith Beauch. Career I. iii. 39 He quoted sayings..in which neither his ear nor Wilmore's detected the *underring Stukely was famous for.

1874 Lanier Poems, Corn 28 Fragmentary whispers, blown From *undertalks of leafy souls unknown.

1872 T. Hardy Under Greenw. Tree i. i, Dick Dewy..continued his tune in an *under-whistle.

    IV. Denoting insufficiency or defect.
    10. a. With verbs. From the latter part of the 16th cent., by contrast with over- 27, under- is prefixed to verbs to imply that the action falls below the usual or proper standard, and thus acquires the sense of ‘at too low a rate’, ‘too low’, ‘too little’, ‘insufficiently’. Early instances are underprize, -value, others of slightly later date are underbuy, -charge, -rate, -reckon, -sell, etc. Subsequently the use becomes extremely common, especially in the sense of ‘insufficiently, not enough’, as under-calculate, -emphasize, -fulfil, -graze, -react, -recover, etc., and occurs frequently with pa. pples. and ppl. adjs., as under-endowed, -equipped, -financed, -fulfilled, -funded, -garrisoned, -grazed, -gunned, -industrialized, -informed, -policed, -powered, -publicized, -researched, -stained, -stressed, etc. Examples of vbl. ns. (cf. b), as under-funding, -grazing etc. are also included in the following illustrations.

1885 Pall Mall G. 14 Feb. 3/2 The..over-worked and *under-accommodated class of reporters.

1862 Lond. Rev. 16 Aug. 141 Another baker will make his loaves originally of short weight, and will then *underbake them.

1901 Scotsman 5 Mar. 7/8 *Under-ballasted vessels were..a source of danger to themselves.

Ibid., Accidents to British ships..due to *under-ballasting.

1882 St. James' Gaz. 3 Apr. 5/2 The Cantabs were slightly *underboated this year.

1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Brewing, This is generally attributed to their *under-boiling their strong Worts.

1836 Dickens Let. 8 Oct. (1965) I. 181 There really is not time, unless Hansard's people, have greatly *under⁓calculated the quantity sent. 1910 Practitioner Feb. 152 Cough..is one of the..most significant symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis... It is too often undercalculated by the patient and his friends. 1983 Platt's Oil Marketing Bull. 15 Aug. 1/1 It has been undercalculating its Windfall Tax payments.

1889 Boy's Own Paper 3 Aug. 700/2 My boat being considerably *under-canvassed, the weather was rarely too bad for me to make a start.

1866 Ecclesiologist XXVII. 220 The reproach usual in French provincial towns, of being lamentably *under-churched.

1737 Waterland Eucharist 202 But there may be danger of *under-commenting, as well as of interpreting too high.

1861 Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. xxxviii. 893 If the patient be allowed to eat vegetables, never send them up *undercooked.

1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 155 We lose the strength..by over-timing and *under-developing.

1778 [W. H. Marshall] Minutes Agric., Digest 134 Whose Farm is for ever under⁓stocked, *under-dunged, and under-tilled!

1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. vi. 393 He has been *under-educated,..and is not very brilliant.

1964 Amer. Psychologist XIX. 14/2 If I have seemed to *underemphasize the importance of inner capacities..it is because I believe that this part of the story is given by the nature of man's evolution.

1909 H. G. Wells Ann Veronica xvii. 344, I remarked that science was disgracefully *under-endowed, and confessed I'd had to take to more profitable courses. 1969 N. W. Pirie Food Resources viii. 191 They are almost all under⁓endowed while money is squandered on projects with little bearing on the world's real needs.

1960 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 Sept. 553/4 Our teenagers are cast out into the world with boredom as the only memory of their ill-disciplined, *under-equipped schooldays.

1923 Daily Mail 30 Jan. 4 This Department is under-staffed, *under⁓financed, unprovided with many of the safeguards it has itself demanded. 1977 M. Edelman Political Lang. v. 100 An under-financed and uncoordinated reaction to widespread destitution becomes a ‘war on poverty’.

1950 A. Lee Soviet Air Force 77 Unlike the later Five Year Plans, the target for the first was ‘*underfulfilled’. 1964 Ann. Reg. 1963 230 According to Premier {Smac}irok{yacu}..the plan as a whole had been underfulfilled by 1·2 per cent. 1982 T. J. Binyon Swan Song v. 32 The professor..accused me..of consistently underfulfilling the department's norms in teaching, research and administration.

1970 Nature 8 Aug. 551/2 It also suggests, perhaps intentionally, that the project is grossly *underfunded.

1963 Economist 27 Apr. 342/1 Over-funding last year could be compensated by *under-funding this year. 1981 Daily Tel. 17 Oct. 12/3 The continual underfunding of the Royal Shakespeare Company..was endangering its ability to..retain its talented staff.

1936 Auden & Isherwood Ascent of F6 i. ii. 24 We're *under-garrisoned and under⁓policed and..we're in a blue funk that the Ostnians will come over the frontier.

1977 J. L. Harper Population Biol. of Plants xiv. 438 Swards were overgrazed in winter and spring and *undergrazed in summer and autumn.

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 71/1 Those swards which needed improvement were the *undergrazed type.

1933 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XCIV. 24 This plot was subjected to overstocking in winter and early spring, followed by gross *undergrazing during the summer and autumn. 1974 Times 7 Jan. 12/3 To tear up large areas at once has led too often to undergrazing, drainage difficulties, [etc.].

1648 T. Hill Spring of Grace 11 We are apt to overgrieve or *undergrieve at crosses.

1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story North Sea Air Station xiii. 214 As a fighting machine the H.12 was *under-gunned for her size. 1944 Return to Attack (Army Board, N.Z.) 8/1 The armoured brigades..were equipped with..both types [of tank] fast-moving but under-gunned compared with the German tanks.

1964 I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 33 We cannot examine demography without basing our analysis on some definite correlation of..*underindustrialized and overpopulated.

1968 Punch 31 July 141/1 The *under⁓informed voter.

1866 Odling Anim. Chem. 144 Strongly suggestive of these animals being, so to speak, *under-lunged.

1778 [W. H. Marshall] Minutes Agric., Digest 66 Re-load *under-made Hay.

1847 Helps Friends in C. I. iv. 67 An ugly phantom of a caricature..which..*under-mimics its wisdom, over-acts its folly.

1936 *Under-policed [see under-garrisoned above]. 1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. a20/5 Underpoliced and unkempt, [the bus terminal]..serves as headquarters for an ominous army of hookers, muggers and pimps.

1884 Spectator 4 Oct. 1298/2 If..only the pure Milesian race should own the soil..the country would be *under-populated.

1882 Garden 25 Feb. 135/3 Use manure water freely..to all [ferns] that are *under-potted.

1905 Kipling Actions & Reactions (1909) 128 *Under-powered craft..can ascend to the limit of their lift. 1980 ‘M. Harris’ Treasure of Sainte Foy i. 4 The small Renault is underpowered and rather cheaply built.

1971 H. Wilson Labour Govt. xxxvi. 739 One of the *under-publicised achievements of comprehensive secondary education.

1965 *Under-react [see overreact v.] 1982 Economist 5 June 37/2 The markets may, on average, have underreacted to the publication of the money figures.

1849 Maurice Let. in Life (1884) II. 9 A misunderstanding, contraction or *under⁓realising of the truths of God's Absolute, Fatherly Love.

1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. x. i. (1869) I. 105 In point of pecuniary gain..they..are generally *under-recompensed.

1967 *Under-recover [see over-recovered s.v. over- 27 b].

1884 Manch. Exam. 16 Oct. 5/1 We are told that the counties are enormously *under-represented.

1942 M. McCarthy Company she Keeps v. 239 [He] went back to the public library; perhaps..the material was *under-researched. 1982 Pol. Sci. Q. XCVII. 474 Rawlings's intervention, so sadly underresearched.

1881 Daily Tel. 20 Oct., An absurdly *under-rigged steamer.

1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 673 The *under-ripened seed of the bad season of 1841 produced the good crop of potatoes of 1842.

1832 Nat. Philos., Electric. ii. §49. 13 (L.U.K.), In a deficiency of fluid, or in matter *under-saturated.

1786 Trans. Soc. Arts IV. 102 The land was *under seeded.

1872 H. W. Beecher Lect. Preach. iv. 109 Some men *under-sleep, and some over-sleep; some eat too much, and some too little.

1941 *Understained [see heterochromatin]. 1956 Under-stained [see heterochromatic a. 2].

1900 Christian 15 Nov. 9/1 We frequently have to pay.. excess on delivery of *understamped letters. 1778 *Under-tilled [see under-dunged above].

1900 Phil. Mag. L. 132 A lower factor of safety might..be used in such cases, where there is a large reserve of *understressed material. 1928 Observer 17 June 8 It is a curious book. Colloquial and offhand, deliberately understressed in feeling and description, [etc.]. 1969 Harper's Bazaar Sept. 27/1 An expensive car must be one hundred per cent reliable, and this..means an under-stressed engine of the simplest possible kind.

1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 227 The negative was so badly *undertimed as to be useless.

1861 O. W. Holmes Pages fr. Old Vol. Life (1891) 9 They are very commonly pallid, *undervitalized, shy, sensitive creatures.

1832 Prop. Reg. Instr. Cavalry iii. 99 The Troop Leaders may know whether to over-wheel or *under-wheel.

ellipt. 1628 Feltham Resolves ii. xxviii. 89, I hold it a greater iniurie to bee ouer-valued, then vnder. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre vii, The under..or the over dressing of a dish.

    b. With nouns, in the sense of ‘insufficient, deficient, defective’, contrasted with over- 29. Examples occur in the 17th cent. in underprice, -rate, -value, -wages, and are not uncommon in later use, though less frequent than the verbal forms. Recent examples include under-capacity, -emphasis, -fulfilment, -population, -recovery, -registration.

1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) lxxxvi. 725 The American problem of abundance or overcapacity to produce commodities and *undercapacity to consume them.

1916 E. Pound Let. 17 Apr. (1971) 76 In ‘Impression’, I don't think ‘dissolved’ is just the right word, though I recognize that you may have been aiming at a sort of restraint or *under-emphasis which can be effective. 1977 M. Edelman Political Lang. v. 83 Hess and Torney found a repetitive emphasis in the schools on the values of loyalty, authority, and law, and an underemphasis on citizens' rights.

1895 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 380 The result is always over⁓eating and *under-exercise.

1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) vii. 58, I can't recall visiting any mine or factory where ‘*underfulfillment’ was predicted.

1861 M. Arnold Pop. Educ. France 11, I shall proceed to point out..some inconveniences of *under-government.

1899 Patten Developm. Eng. Th. vi. 382 Overnutrition as well as *undernutrition weakens the body.

1922 Daily Mail 29 Nov. 8/4 The absurd *underpopulation of the country parts. 1966 Times 28 Mar. (Austral. Suppl.) p. xii/6 Faced with the difficulties of isolation and under-population, managements argue that secondhand top name overseas packages are a cheaper..investment.

c 1900 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VI. 158 (Cent. Suppl.), The foul air..makes a direct escape,..providing..it meets or passes no compartment on its way in which *under⁓pressure exists.

1887 Pall Mall G. 28 Feb. 1/2 Over production may exist in manufactures owing to *under production of crops.

1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 511 The Sugar Board..revealed a loss..; the deficit brought the Board's total ‘*under-recovery’ to {pstlg}7·1 million.

1952 C. P. Blacker Eugenics 160 Lorimer gives good reasons for thinking that this discrepancy arose from *under-registration of deaths, especially of infantile deaths, in the intervening period.

1894 Westm. Gaz. 14 Sept. 1/3 More important..is the *under-representation of the big societies.

1864 Ruskin in Daily Tel. 31 Oct., An *under-supply of wages and an over-supply of labourers.

1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 268 *Under ventilation, too little air circulating in a mine.

    c. With adjectives under- is rarely employed as the opposite of over- 28, except when directly suggested by the latter, e.g. under-scrupulous as the converse of over-scrupulous; underhonest (Shakes.) in contrast to overproud; under-ripe, etc.

1971 Nature 23 Apr. 517/1 With this value..Fig. 1 suggests that the primary is grossly underluminous for its mass.

    11. In words formed with under- the stress is variable. Normally it falls on the stem in verbs (including participles in predicative use) and on the prefix in nouns, adjectives, and attributive participles, with a secondary stress on prefix or stem respectively, whenever form or sense makes a double stressing natural or necessary. Even in verbs, however, the prefix naturally takes either the main or an equal stress whenever it becomes emphatic through contrast either with the simple verb or with a compound in over-.
    12. Compounds in which the two parts are not felt to be distinct are written as one word without a hyphen. In other formations the use of the hyphen is variable, and depends to a great extent on the form or the frequency of the word. Complete separation of the prefix, common in older usage, is now restricted to instances in which under may be taken as an adjective. Examples of these have been included under the compounds, as no clear distinction can be drawn between the two.
▪ II. under-, prefix²
    (ˈʌndə(r))
    originating in the coalescence of the preposition under with a following noun, the compound being then usually employed as an adj. or adv., as underfoot, -ground, -hand, -stairs, -water. In attributive use these compounds have the stress on the prefix.
    Purely adjectival formations, as under-celestial (Florio), -natural (1642), -proficient (1703), are rare. An unusual type occurs in undergraduate.

1892 Daily News 1 Feb. 2/3 The Indian season being..dull in consequence of *under-average grain crops.

1886 Pall Mall G. 24 Aug. 4/2 The substitution for the old *under-guard lever of the ‘snap’, or spring action for opening the breech.

1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta ii, Everything turned upon whether the postmaster..would be in his *under⁓government manner.

1966 Times 28 Feb. (Canada Suppl.) p. xvi/6, The submarine freighter..must have an *under-ice capacity of 800 to 1,000 miles. 1976 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXIV. 638/2 BAS has undertaken surface sledge traverses for major anomalies and to interpret the under-ice rocks and principal structural features such as George VI Sound.

1887 Meredith Ballads & P. 149 Some *undermountain narrative he tells.

1894 Daily News 3 Sept. 4/1 The work of real difficulty is..the *under-river portion of the tunnel.

1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 301 A bridge across an *under-swamp river.

1959 Encounter Nov. 17/2, 175 divisions in the Red Army..as against 14 *under-strength divisions in the U.S. army. 1971 R. Petrie Thorne in Flesh ix. 117 An understrength police force was at full stretch.

Oxford English Dictionary