Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Underlie
1.
To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under;
as, a stratum of clay
. underlies
the surface gravel2.
To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support;
as, a doctrine
. underlying
a theory3.
To be subject or amenable to.
[R.]
The knight of Ivanhoe . . .
underlies
the challenge of Brian der Bois Guilbert. Sir W. Scott.
Unˊder-lie′
,Verb.
I.
To lie below or under.