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nether

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nether¹

  • /nɛð.ə/ UK
  • /nɛð.ɚ/ Canada, US
  • /neð.ə/ Australia

Rhymes with -ɛðə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

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.

adjective nethermore · nethermost

  1. Lower; under. The disappointed child’s nether lip quivered.

    Similar: bottom, lower

  2. Lying beneath, or conceived as lying beneath, the Earth’s surface. the nether regions

    Similar: subsurface, subterranean

adverb more nether · most nether

  1. Down; downward.
  2. Low; low down.

proper noun the nether

  1. Alternative letter-case form of the Nether

nether²

  • /nɛð.ə/ UK
  • /nɛð.ɚ/ Canada, US
  • /neð.ə/ Australia

Rhymes with -ɛðə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Alteration of earlier nither, from Middle English nitheren, from Old English niþerian (“to depress, abase, bring low, humiliate, oppress, accuse, condemn”), from niþer (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”). See above.

verb nethers · nethering · nethered · nither

  1. Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive To bring or thrust down; bring or make low; lower; abase; humble.
  2. Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive To constrict; straiten; confine; restrict; suppress; lay low; keep under; press in upon; vex; harass; oppress.
  3. Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive To pinch or stunt with cold or hunger; check in growth; shrivel; straiten.
  4. Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive To shrink or huddle, as with cold; be shivery; tremble.
  5. Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive To depreciate; disparage; undervalue.

noun nethers · nither

  1. Scotland, UK, dialectal Oppression; stress; a withering or stunting influence.
  2. A trouble; a fault or dislocation in a seam of coal.

Nether³

  • /nɛð.ə/ UK
  • /nɛð.ɚ/ Canada, US
  • /neð.ə/ Australia

Rhymes with -ɛðə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From nether (“lying beneath”).

proper noun the Nether

  1. A dangerous, hell-like underworld dimension in the game Minecraft, accessed via an obsidian portal, filled with lava, unique mobs, and resources.

Translations

Every language

adj lower

Españolinferior, de abajo
日本語下の shita no
Portuguêsinferior
Françaisinférieur
Deutschnieder
Italianoinferiore
Românăsub
Русскийни́жний nížnij

adj beneath the earth's surface

Españolsubterráneo
Portuguêssubterrâneo
Françaissouterrain
Deutschunterirdisch
Italianosotterraneo
Românăsubteran
Русскийподзе́мный podzémnyj

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MLA

"nether." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nether. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

nether. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nether

Chicago

"nether." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nether.

BibTeX
@misc{nether_2026,
  title = {nether},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nether},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}