netherworld

== English == === Alternative forms === nether world === Etymology === From nether- (“beneath, lower”) +‎ world. === Noun === netherworld (plural netherworlds) The place to which one's spirit descends upon death, conceived as below the surface of the earth. The locale of the spirit world or afterlife, whether deemed to be situated below the world of the living or not. Specifically, a location of punishment in the afterlife; a hell. (by extension) A hidden, shadowy, or sinister subculture, such as that of organized crime. ==== Usage notes ==== Depending on cultural context, it may be appropriate to construct this as the netherworld, if only one is supposed to exist. ==== Synonyms ==== (subterranean region for spirits of the dead): Hades, hell, nether region, underworld (location of the spirit world or afterlife): astral plane, heaven (place of punishment after death): damnation, Hades, hell, underworld (hidden, shadowy, or sinister subculture): underworld ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === netherworld on Wikipedia.Wikipedia