Related Searches
Nearby Words

underlie

 [uhn-der-lahy]   Origin

un·der·lie

   [uhn-der-lahy]
verb (used with object) -lay, -lain, -ly·ing.
1.
to lie under or beneath; be situated under.
2.
to be at the basis of; form the foundation of.
3.
Grammar. to function as the root morpheme or original or basic form of (a derived form): The form “boy” underlies “boyish.”
4.
Finance. to be primary to another right or security.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English underlyen (v.), Old English underlicgan. See under-, lie2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To underlie

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Underlie is always a great word to know.
So is en dash. Does it mean:
a dash one en long.
the symbol (#) used for various purposes.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
underlie (ˌʌndəˈlaɪ)
 
—vb , -lies, -lying, -lay, -lain
1.  to lie or be placed under or beneath
2.  to be the foundation, cause, or basis of: careful planning underlies all our decisions
3.  finance to take priority over (another claim, liability, mortgage, etc): a first mortgage underlies a second
4.  to be the root or stem from which (a word) is derived: "happy" underlies "happiest"
 
'underlier
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

underlie
O.E. under licgan "to be subordinate to, to submit to;" see under + lie (v.2). Meaning "to lie under or beneath" is attested from 1600; fig. sense of "to be the basis of" is attested from 1852 (implied in underlying).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT