beneathyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[beneath 词源字典]
beneath: [OE] Beneath is a compound adverb and preposition, formed in Old English from bi ‘by’ and nithan or neothan ‘below’. This came originally from Germanic *nith- (also the source of nether [OE]), a derivative of the base *ni- ‘down’.
=> nether[beneath etymology, beneath origin, 英语词源]
beneath (adv., adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English beneoðan "beneath, under, below," from be- "by" + neoðan "below," originally "from below," from Proto-Germanic *niþar "lower, farther down, down" (see nether). Meaning "unworthy of" is attested from 1849 (purists prefer below in this sense). "The be- gave or emphasized the notion of 'where,' excluding that of 'whence' pertaining to the simple niðan" [OED].