underlie

Meanings

1. To lie in a position directly beneath something.
2. To lie under or beneath.
3. To serve as a basis of; form the foundation of.
4. To be subject to; be liable to answer, as a charge or challenge.
5. To underlay.

Etymology

From Middle English underlien, underliggen, from Old English underliċġan (“to underlie, to be subject to, give way to”), equivalent to under- + lie. Cognate with Dutch onderliggen (“to lie below, lie on the bottom of”), German unterliegen (“to lie under, be subject to, succumb”).