1. nether(s = adj.all) - lower; "gnawed his nether lip"
2. nether(s = adj.all) chthonian, chthonic - dwelling beneath the surface of the earth; "nether regions"
3. nether(s = adj.all) under - located below or beneath something else; "nether garments"; "the under parts of a machine"
Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below; lower; under; -- opposed to
"'Twixt upper, nether, and surrounding fires." [1913 Webster]
"This darksome nether world her light
Doth dim with horror and deformity." [1913 Webster]
"All my nether shape thus grew transformed." [1913 Webster]
nether, adj. archaic = LOWER(1).
Idiom:
nether regions (or world) hell; the underworld.
Derivative:
nethermost adj.
Etymology:
OE nithera etc. f. Gmc
N lowness, debasement, depression, prostration, depression, molehill, lowlands, basement floor, ground floor, rez de chaussee, cellar, hold, bilge, feet, heels, low water, low tide, ebb tide, neap tide, spring tide, low, neap, debased, nether, nether most, flat, level with the ground, lying low, crouched, subjacent, squat, prostrate, under, beneath, underneath, below, downwards, adown, at the foot of, under foot, under ground, down stairs, below stairs, at a low ebb, below par.