UNDERLIE

underlie

(verb) be or form the base for

underlie

(verb) lie underneath

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

underlie (third-person singular simple present underlies, present participle underlying, simple past underlay, past participle underlain)

(intransitive) To lie in a position directly beneath.

(transitive) To lie under or beneath.

(transitive) To serve as a basis of; form the foundation of.

(transitive) To be subject to; be liable to answer, as a charge or challenge.

(mining) To underlay.

Source: Wiktionary


Un`der*lie", v. t. Etym: [AS. underlicgan. See Under, and Lie to be prostrate.]

1. To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under; as, a stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel.

2. To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support; as, a doctrine underlying a theory.

3. To be subject or amenable to. [R.] The knight of Ivanhoe . . . underlies the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert. Sir W. Scott.

Un`der*lie", v. i.

Definition: To lie below or under.

Un"der*lie`, n.

Definition: See Underlay, n., 1.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 April 2025

WHOLE

(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest collection of coffee pots belongs to Robert Dahl (Germany) and consists of 27,390 coffee pots as of 2 November 2012, in Rövershagen, Germany.

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