Underground
/ˌʌndərˈɡraʊnd/noun
Situated below the surface of the ground; also, secret, nonconformist, or subcultural.
Did you know?The “secret movement” sense of underground is modern, but the word’s power comes from a very old Germanic spatial root meaning beneath the earth—where burial, treasure, and the unseen all lived together.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ndher-
“under, lower”
Old English
English
under
“beneath, below”
Old English
English
grund
“bottom, foundation, earth, soil”
Middle English
English
undergroun(d)
“beneath the ground; below the earth's surface”
Modern English
English
underground
“below the surface of the earth; secret or subcultural”