Un'der-lie'1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. UNDERLAY; p. p. UNDERLAIN; p. pr. & vb. n. UNDERLYING.]
Sense 1. To lie under; to rest beneath; to be situated under; as, a stratum of clay underlying some other formation.
Sense 2. To be at the basis of; to form the foundation of; to support; as, a doctrine underlying a theory.
Sense 3. To be subject to or responsible for. [Rare.]
The knight of Ivanhoe underlies the challenge of Brian de Bois Guilbert. W. Scott.