underlie means to lie in a position directly beneath something.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, underlie ranks #1,688 of 42,747 for Qualifying.
underlie is pronounced /ˌʌn.dəˈlaɪ/.
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”).
verb
- To lie in a position directly beneath something.
- To lie under or beneath.e.g.“A stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel.”
- To serve as a basis of; form the foundation of.e.g.“a doctrine underlying a theory”
- To be subject to; be liable to answer, as a charge or challenge.e.g.“The knight of Ivanhoe […] underlies the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert.” — 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […],
- To underlay.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).