underlie C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction US /ˌʌn.dɚˈlaɪ/ UK /ˌʌn.dəˈlaɪ/ See IPA manual Freq #146219 Meanings 1 verb to lie beneath something Layers of clay underlie the field. 2 verb to be the hidden basis or cause of something A simple assumption underlies the whole theory. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to lie beneath something lie undersit beneath 2 verb · to be the hidden basis or... underpinsupportground More subtend ↔ Opposites overlie Word family Derived forms underlainunderlayunderliesunderlying Related forms underlying Etymology AI details From Middle English underlien, underliggen, from Old English underliċġan ("to underlie"), equivalent to under + lie. underlien Middle English underliċġan Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Space, Position & Direction External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # underlie **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˌʌn.dɚˈlaɪ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌʌn.dəˈlaɪ/ **Frequency rank:** 146219 ## Meanings 1. to lie beneath something 2. to be the hidden basis or cause of something ## Examples - Layers of clay underlie the field. - A simple assumption underlies the whole theory. ## Synonyms - lie under - underpin - support - ground - subtend ## Antonyms - overlie ## Derived Forms - underlain - underlay - underlies - underlying ## Related Forms - underlying ## Roots and Affixes - Root: underlien - Root: underliċġan ## Etymology From Middle English underlien, underliggen, from Old English underliċġan ("to underlie"), equivalent to under + lie. ## AI Etymology Underlie comes from Middle English underlien and Old English underliċġan, literally under + lie. The physical sense is to lie beneath something. The abstract sense follows naturally: a principle, cause, or assumption can lie beneath an argument, event, or system. Forms such as underlies, underlying, underlay, and underlain belong to this same verb family. The word is therefore a headword, while converged and similar inflections belong under their verb roots. ## Topics - Space, Position & Direction markdown