below

adv

Etymology: From Middle English bilooghe, equivalent to be- + low. Compare also earlier Middle English alogh, alow, aloȝ, alowe (“below”), benethen (“beneath”), Dutch omlaag (“downwards”).

1. In or to a lower place.

   “The town is situated on a hillside, with a river running below.”

   “He was pulled below by a sea monster.”

2. In or to a lower place.

   “She lives below, on the ground floor.”

3. In or to a lower place.

   “The captain went below to inspect the engine.”

   “the landlubbers lying down below”

4. Later in the same text.

   “This point is explained below.”

   “By their execution hereof, the Parties incur a legal obligation to pass consideration under this Loan Contract as is set forth below.”

5. Below zero.

   “It was forty degrees below.”

name

1. A surname.

prep

Etymology: From Middle English bilooghe, equivalent to be- + low. Compare also earlier Middle English alogh, alow, aloȝ, alowe (“below”), benethen (“beneath”), Dutch omlaag (“downwards”).

1. Lower in spatial position than.

   “One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.”

   “The treasure is buried two meters below the surface.”

2. Lower than in value, price, rank, concentration, etc.

   “one degree below kings”

   “Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.”

3. Downstream of.

   “The River Thames is tidal below Teddington Lock.”

4. South of.

   “Sudan is below Egypt.”

5. Unsuitable to the rank or dignity of; beneath.

   “They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain, […] how below all history the persons and their actions were.”

   “who thinks no fact below his regard”

6. Downstage of.

   “Below the sofa is a low, round coffee table.”