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au-delà

Etymology and origin of the French word au-delà

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1538
Ultimate origin
Latin (illāc)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French à
French adieu
French au-delà

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /o.d(ə).la/[1]

Forms

au-delà (adverb); au-delà m, plural au-delàs (noun)[1][2]

Etymology

It is from French à + delà, with the article contracted into au.[1][3] The second element (about 1160) is formed from de and là, which comes from Latin illāc (“that way, there”).[4][3][5][6] The noun is a conversion of the adverb.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adverbial phrase au delà “further, on the other side” is recorded in 1538.[3]

Semantic evolution

Au delà replaced the older delà and par delà in the spatial sense, and developed the figurative value “still more, still better” (Pascal).[3] Like en deçà it formed the prepositional phrase au delà de (about 1550), local and figurative, as in Montaigne's au dela de nos forces (1580–92).[3][4]

The noun l'au-delà first appears in Amiel's Journal (1866) and is almost entirely limited to “the other world”, beside ici-bas and là-haut; it is the only use in which the hyphen is compulsory.[3][4][7] The Larousse recorded it in 1929.[8][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1160 – Delà.[4][3]
  • 1538 – The adverbial phrase au delà.[3]
  • c. 1550 – Au delà de.[3]
  • 1580–92 – Au dela de nos forces in Montaigne.[4]
  • 1866 – The noun l'au-delà in Amiel.[4][7]
  • 1929 – The noun in the Larousse.[8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Further, beyond.[8][1]
  2. Au-delà de: on the other side of (au-delà de la frontière); figuratively, beyond, more than (au-delà de sa compétence).[8][1]

Noun

  1. L'au-delà: the next world, the afterlife: dans l'au-delà.[2][1]
  • delà
  • par-delà
  • en deçà
  • là

Usage notes

Vérité au-deçà des Pyrénées, erreur au-delà is a line of Pascal's on the relativity of custom.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 547a
  7. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
Cite this entry

“Au-delà.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/au-del%C3%A0. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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