Where does “under” come from?

under (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic under, from Proto-Indo-European h₁entér, from Proto-Indo-European h₁en — in; in, inside.

under (Old English): under, beneath

Definitions

  1. under, beneath

Ancestry of “under”, step by step

under traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-Germanic under

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicunderamong, between; under, beneath; under
2Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁entérbetween
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁enin; in, inside

via Germanic *under

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanic*under—
2Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰérunder, below

Words derived from “under”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁en →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁entér →Every word from Proto-Germanic under →