Nether Definition
(UK dialectal, Scotland) Oppression; stress; a withering or stunting influence.
(mining) A trouble; a fault or dislocation in a seam of coal.
Origin of Nether
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From Middle English nether, nethere, nithere, from Old English niþera (“lower, under, lowest", adjective), from niþer, niþor (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position", adv), from Proto-Germanic *niþer, *niþra (“down"), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, down"); akin to Old Saxon adjective nithiri (“nether"), adverb nithar (“down"), Old High German adjective nidari, nidaro (“nether"), adverb nidar (“down") (see German nieder), Old Dutch nither (see Dutch neder) Old Norse adjective neðri, neðarri (“nether"), adverb niðr (“down"); all from a Germanic word that is a comparative of a word akin to Sanskrit नि (ni, “down") and Albanian nën (“under, in") from *nënd, compound of në (“in") + dhe (“earth"), lit. in, under the earth; akin to Old English in.
From Wiktionary
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From Middle English nither-, neother-, from Old English niþer- (prefix), from niþer (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position”). Cognate with Dutch neder-, neer- (“down”), German nieder- (“down”). More at nether.
From Wiktionary
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Alteration of earlier nither, from Middle English nitheren, from Old English niþerian (“ to depress, abase, bring low, humiliate, oppress, accuse, condemn"), from Old English niþer (“below, beneath, down, downwards, lower, in an inferior position"). See above.
From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old English neothera from neother down
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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