understage

adj, noun, verb — 3 senses

understage

adj

Etymology From under- + stage.

1

Of machinery etc underneath the stage

understage

noun

Etymology From under- + stage.

1

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Theater The area beneath a stage.

When deep pits, required in the understage for the machinery and traps, cannot be drained on account of insufficient depth of the street sewer1900, William Paul Gerhard, Theatres: Their Safety from Fire and Panic, Their Comfort and Healthfulness, page 97:
The understage being only 9 feet (5 braccia) high, the mountain had to rise in telescoping stages1996, James M. Saslow, The Medici wedding of 1589: Florentine festival as Theatrum Mundi, page 86:

1 more example

dozens of strapping stage-hands in the understage manipulating warships, cannons dispatching balls of fire, blue smoke.2001, Augusto Boal with Adrian Jackson and Candida Blaker, Hamlet and the baker's son: my life in theatre and politics:

understage

verb

Etymology From under- + stage.

1

Medicine, Sciences To underestimate the severity of a patient's illness

Related terms: overstage

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.