# nether

> English word · Adjective · IPA /nɛð.ə/ · frequency rank #32,937

## Definitions
1. Lower; under.
2. Lying beneath, or conceived as lying beneath, the Earth’s surface.

## Etymology
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”, adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, *niþra (“down”), from Proto-Indo-European *ni-, *nei- (“in, down”). Cognates include Dutch neder, German nieder, Luxembourgish nidder, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ned, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish nedre (“lower”), Faroese and Icelandic niður.

## Easily confused with
- **never** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nether-vs-never)
- **newer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nether-vs-newer)
- **neuter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nether-vs-neuter)
- **nutter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nether-vs-nutter)
- **nother** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nether-vs-nother)
- **nephew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nephew-vs-nether)
- **nearer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nearer-vs-nether)
- **neither** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/neither-vs-nether)

## Common misspellings (9)
`enther`, `nehter`, `netehr`, `netherr`, `nethher`, `nethre`, `netther`, `nnether`, `nteher`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nether