underlay

Etymology 1

From Middle English underleyen, from Old English underleċġan (“to underlay, prop, support”), equivalent to under- + lay. Cognate with Dutch onderleggen (“to lay or put under”), German unterlegen (“to underlay”), Swedish underlägga (“to underlay”).

verb

1. simple past of underlie

verb

1. (transitive) To lay (something) underneath something else; to put under.
2. (transitive) To provide a support for something; to raise or support by something laid under.
   to underlay a cut, plate, or the like, for printing
3. (transitive) To put a tap on (a shoe).
4. (mining, transitive, intransitive, of a vein, fault, or lode) To incline from the vertical.

Etymology 2

From Middle English underlay, underlei, equivalent to under- + lay.

noun

1. A layer (of earth, etc.) that lies under another; substratum.
2. A soft floor covering that lies under a carpet.
3. Anything that is underlaid.
4. (printing, historical) A piece of paper pasted under woodcuts, stereotype plates, etc. in a form, to bring them up to the necessary level for printing.
5. (music) Lyrics; or more specifically, the way in which lyrics are assigned to musical notes.
   The underlay in bar 3 is unclear in Handel's manuscript.