word-choice – Understanding the Differences Between ‘Under,’ ‘Below,’ ‘Beneath,’ and ‘Underneath’

word-choice

Rectangle, ellipse and triangle

Suppose we have a flat drawing with rectangle, ellipse and triangle (see picture).

What prepositions can we use in these cases:

  1. The ellipse is […] the rectangle.
  2. The triangle is […] the rectangle.

Suggestions: "under", "below", "beneath", "underneath"; "behind"; others.

I understand meaning of these prepositions in 3D world. But in generic case of appearance of 2D painting on screen (say, at web-site), when I don't have any guess about user's devices and their disposition (e.g. he may use CRT monitor with vertical screen, or put his tablet horizontally on table, or lay on his back with keeping screen horizontally) — what is the best word choice? Or every word would be equally ambiguous without context knowledge?

So, question is not about prepositions themselves, but about their traditional usage for specifying disposition of 2D objects on screen — and their potential ambiguity for user with unknown screen orientation.

Best Answer

The following four positions are obvious

the green circle is behind the red square
the red square is in front of the green circle

the blue triangle is below the red square
the red square is above the blue triangle

If a specific frame of reference is given, i.e. the upper-left hand-corner, then

the blue triangle is beneath the red square
the blue triangle is below the red square
the blue triangle is underneath the red square
the blue triangle is lower than the red square

the red square is above the blue triangle
the red square is on top of the blue triangle
the red square is higher than the blue triangle

The green circle is still behind the red square
The red square is still on top of the green circle

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