under
Definitions
General English
- adverb in a lower place
- preposition in or to a place where something else is on top or above
- preposition less than a number
General Science
- prefix (written as under-)less than or not as strong
Accounting
- prefix (written as under-)less important than or lower than
Banking
- preposition lower than or less than
- preposition controlled by, according to
Medical
- prefix (written as under-)less than usual, too little
Origin & History of “under”
Under originated as a comparative form. It has been traced back to a prehistoric Indo-European *ndhero-, which meant ‘lower’, and is also the ultimate source of English inferior (15th c.). this passed into Germanic as *unther-, which has evolved into German unter, Dutch onder, and Swedish, Danish, and English under.
