nether regionn.
/ˌnɛðə ˈriːdʒ(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈnɛðər ˌridʒ(ə)n/ 1. A region or area which lies or is situated at the bottom or beneath the surface. Also in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [noun] > defined or limited portion of space > a particular extent or region > distinguished by some quality or condition
reignc1405
girdle1559
zone1822
nether region1830
1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 397 The great reservoirs of melted matter..in the nether regions.
1834 tr. F. Bacon Theory of Firmament in Wks. XV. 9 It would not be ingenuous in us to feign here in this nether region such aphorism as they suppose with respect to the heavens.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. i. iii. 60 See now, how by diligent shaving, the nether region of your face may preserve its human outline, instead of presenting no distinction from the physiognomy of..a Barbary ape.
1872 Harper's New Monthly Mag. 45 667 Whether one of the tinkers, tailors, or cordwainers in the nether region had quietly given me the means of freedom by drawing the bolt..will never be made clear to me.
1882 Cent. Mag. 24 870 How to get down into the warm nether region of water and verdure, where the town lay seemingly within a stone's throw, was a problem that appeared difficult.
1896 Mrs. H. Ward in Cent. Mag. 52 515 He gave her a slight signal, and the two retired to some nether region to discuss the secrets of their employers.
2. Usually in plural.
a. An underworld; hell. Also in figurative contexts. Cf. netherworld n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > hell > [noun]
helleOE
hellOE
perditiona1382
perishingc1384
welling woea1400
hellwardc1400
Topheta1425
gehenne1481
to devilwardc1550
limbo1581
Averna1592
Hades1597
Sheol1599
other place1604
underworld1608
infernals1613
gehenna1623
lower world1639
netherworld1640
pandemonium1667
subterrenea1711
diablerie1776
inferno1834
ballyhooly1837
nether region1839
Sam Hill1839
Ballyhack1843
tunket1871
bogydom1880
1839 N. Amer. Rev. 49 371 The fate of Proserpine is reversed, a young man being rapt away from his companion, and borne to a nether region, by two women.
1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. xxiii. 307 At this instant old Roger Chillingworth thrust himself through the crowd—or, perhaps, so dark, disturbed, and evil was his look, he rose up out of some nether region.
1853 I. Taylor Physical Theory Another Life 185 The infernals, or the inhabitants of the nether region, or of hades, are represented as the subjects of the Messiah's kingly function.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 945/1 They [sc. Semitic nomads] were the least superstitious of the families of mankind, the least duped by the dream of a beyond, by the phantasmagory of a double or a shadow surviving in the nether regions.
1977 Rolling Stone 30 June 81/3 I'd already ingested the downers which would very quickly be taking me into dreamy nether regions.
1992 N.Y. Times 27 Dec. v. 19/4 A couple of small bistros I know have relegated nonsmokers to the nether regions: au sous-sol. The basement!
b. The lower, or hind, part of the body, esp. the genitals or buttocks. humorous or euphemistic.
ΚΠ
1849 Standard 9 Nov. The juvenile delinquencies of a villain of a boy, who tumbles into a tub and wets his nether regions, and subsequently brings down a barrel of flour upon his mischievous head, were divertingly embodied by Master Woodward.
1949 Daily Mirror 2 May 4 Blushing to wear patched nether regions, he toured the shops..for a pair of hard-wearing flannel trousers.
1952 E. J. Pratt Towards Last Spike 28 Neither men nor horses ganged like mules... Some instinct in their racial nether regions Had taught them how to sniff the five-hour stretch Down to the fine arithmetic of seconds.
1972 Listener 6 Sept. 312/1 They stood in tasteful tableaux, their hands platonically resting on one another's nether regions.
1986 Observer 5 Jan. 18/1 We thought we were in negotiations before, only to be kicked in the nether regions by the French and the Germans.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1830