nether region

See also: netherregion

English

From nether- +‎ region.

nether region (plural nether regions)

(often pluralized) Hell; a realm beneath the surface of the earth conceived as the abode of the souls of the dead and, sometimes, as the abode of demons or evil spirits.
- 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, ch. 23:
  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.
- 1890, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Firm of Girdlestone, ch. 25:
  None of them were sorry when Faust was duly consigned to the nether regions.
- 1921, William MacLeod Raine, Gunsight Pass, ch. 1:
  The other, dwarfed and prehensile, might in its uncanny silhouette have been an imp of darkness from the nether regions.
(often pluralized, by extension) A place which is subterranean or enclosed beneath a surface, especially one which is dark, dank, or otherwise inhospitable.
- 1918, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Foe-Farrell, ch. 12:
  But the steward of those nether regions marked him, by the electric lamps, as a lurking passenger to be watched; and wondered who, at that depth in the ship, could be carrying valuables.
(often pluralized, euphemistic, sometimes humorous) The groin or buttocks.
- 2006 November 29, Sheila Marikar, “Britney Keeps Flashing, Cameras Keep Clicking”, in ABC News‎:
  The rash of celebrities flashing their nether regions worries Peter Post, director of the Emily Post Institute of etiquette and manners.