Nether Meaning
/nɛð.ə/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjLower; under.
adjLying beneath, or conceived as lying beneath, the Earth’s surface.
Sentence Examples
The nether gate was opened.
Between the upper and nether millstone.
What do you need to build a nether portal?
CEFR Practice Quiz
In ancient myths, the ____ world is a dark and cold place where souls go.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In ancient legends, heroes often traveled to the ____ world to seek wisdom.
Word Origin & History
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, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nedre (“lower”), Faroese and Icelandic niður.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 3:
"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,"
— 1873, Mark Twain, The Gilded Age, page 187:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In ancient myths, the ____ world is a dark and cold place where souls go.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In ancient legends, heroes often traveled to the ____ world to seek wisdom.