nether
/nɛð.ɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.90 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
Down; downward.
name
Alternative letter-case form of the Nether.
verb
To bring or thrust down; bring or make low; lower; abase; humble.
British usage; Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "The disappointed child’s nether lip quivered."
- "And yet another marvel, the nether side of the canopy over the high seats was encrusted with lapis lazuli, and in that feigned dome of heaven burned the twelve signs of the zodiac, every star a diamond that shone with its own light."
- "the nether regions"
- "When one thinks of the tremendous forces of the upper and the nether world which play for the mastery of the soul of a woman during the few years in which she passes from plastic girlhood to the ripe maturity of womanhood,"
Etymology
From Middle English nether, nethere, nithere, from Old English niþera (“lower, under, lowest”, adjective), from niþer, niþor (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, *niþra (“down”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, down”). Cognates include Dutch neder, German nieder, Luxembourgish nidder, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ned (“down”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nedre (“lower”), Faroese and Icelandic niður.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: nether, niþera, *niþer, *h₁én, nitheren, niþerian
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /nɛð.ɚ/
- British English: /nɛð.ə/
Usage
- British usage
- Transitive verb
Inflected Forms
nethermore (comparative, rare)
nethermost (superlative)
more nether (comparative)
most nether (superlative)
the nether (canonical)
nethers (present, singular)
nethering (participle, present)
nethered (participle, past)
nethered (past)
nither (alternative)
nethers (plural)