Meanings
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1
adv
In or to a lower position; below.
The diver went under and disappeared from view.
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2
adv
Less than a particular amount, number, or age.
Children of six and under are admitted free.
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3
adv
Into a state of unconsciousness.
The anaesthetic quickly put the patient under.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English under, from Old English under, from Proto-West Germanic *undar, from Proto-Germanic *under, from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér (“under”) and *h₁entér (“inside”). Akin to German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under; also Old High German untar (“under”), Sanskrit अन्तर् (antar, “within”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).
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