beneath, beneth, bene the, by net he, bine the, by neo the

& adv. [A.S. beneoth, be neo than, benythan = beneath, from prefix be, and neothan, nythan = beneath. Comp. also neoth = down; Dut. beneden, from be and neder = below. In Sw. ned an; Icel. nedhan; Dan. neden; (Ν. Η.) Ger. nieden; O. H. Ger. nidanan, nidana.] [NETHER.] A. As preposition : I. Literally: Below, under, in point of place. (Used of the position of one carrying a load, of the base of a hill, .) " And he [Moses] cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount." - Exod . xxxii. 19. IL Figuratively : 1. Under the pre ure of some burden. "I think our country sinks beneath the yoke." Shakesp.: Macbeth, iv. 3. 2. Sustaining the responsibility of; bearing, as a name. "They envied even the faithle fame He earn'd beneath a Moslem name. Byron: Siege of Corinth , 12. 3. Below or inferior to in rank, dignity, ability, or some other desirable thing. "We have reason to be persuaded, that there are far more species of creatures above us, than there are beneath ."-Locke. 4. Unworthy or unbecoming of one. "He will do nothing that is beneath his high station, nor omit doing anything which becomes it."- Atter bury . B. As adverb: 1. Lower in place than some person or thing. 2. Below; on the earth, in hades or in hell, as opposed to in heaven. "Trembling I view the dread aby beneath, Heli's horrid mansions, and the realms of death." Yalden. the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath."-Deut, iv. 39. 3. Low as opposed to high in social or political position. "And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath."- Deut . xxviii. 13. In a sort of substantival use: Earth as contradistinguished from heaven. ye ye are from beneath; I am from above... John viii. 23.