O.E. be "by" + neoðan "below," originally "from below," from P.Gmc. *niþar "lower, farther down, down" (see nether). Meaning "unworthy of" is attested from 1849 (purists prefer below in this sense).
A*bove"\, prep. [OE. above, aboven, abuffe, AS. abufon; an (or on) on + be by + ufan upward; cf. Goth. uf under. [root]199. See Over.]1. In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface; over; -- opposed to below or beneath. Fowl that may fly above the earth. --Gen. i. 20. 2. Figuratively, higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; beyond; higher in measure or degree than; as, things above comprehension; above mean actions; conduct above reproach. "Thy worth . . . is actions above my gifts." --Marlowe. I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun. --Acts xxxvi. 13. 3. Surpassing in number or quantity; more than; as, above a hundred. (Passing into the adverbial sense. See Above, adv., 4.) above all, before every other consideration; chiefly; in preference to other things. Over and above, prep. or adv., besides; in addition to.
Be*neath"\, prep. [OE. benethe, bineo[eth]en, AS. beneo[eth]an, beny[eth]an; pref. be- + neo[eth]an, ny[eth]an, downward, beneath, akin to E. nether. See Nether.]1. Lower in place, with something directly over or on; under; underneath; hence, at the foot of. "Beneath the mount." --Ex. xxxii. 19. Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies. --Pope. 2. Under, in relation to something that is superior, or that oppresses or burdens. Our country sinks beneath the yoke. --Shak. 3. Lower in rank, dignity, or excellence than; as, brutes are beneath man; man is beneath angels in the scale of beings. Hence: Unworthy of; unbecoming. He will do nothing that is beneath his high station. --Atterbury.
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