v. i. To lie below or under. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ AS. underlicgan. See Under, and Lie to be prostrate. ] 1. To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under; as, a stratum of clay underlies the surface gravel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support; as, a doctrine underlying a theory. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be subject or amenable to. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The knight of Ivanhoe . . . underlies the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Underlay, n., 1. [ 1913 Webster ]