au-dessus

Pronunciation

• IPA: /o.d(ə).sy/^[1]

Forms

au-dessus (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is from French au + dessus, the contracted article “au” (“à” + “le”) with the adverb “dessus”.^[2][3] “Dessus” continues Latin dēsūrsum (“from above”), formed from dē and sūrsum (“upwards”).^[3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rey dates the figurative use of the locution to 1155, and the spatial “above, higher up” to the 13th century, Littré quotes the 12th-century poet Couci: De moi estes au dessus “you are above me”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The prepositional au-dessus de is found with a spatial sense in 1375, and of an order of size from 1568, as in au-dessus de zéro or les enfants au-dessus de sept ans.^[3][2] Used of rivers, au-dessus de means upstream of.^[2][4] In the figurative être au-dessus de something, one is above it, not affected by it.^[4]

Timeline

• 1155 – Figurative use.^[3]
• 13th century – Spatial “above”.^[3]
• 1375 – Au-dessus de in space.^[3]
• 1568 – Au-dessus de of size or quantity.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. above, higher up: il habite au-dessus.^[1][2][4]

Preposition

1. Au-dessus de: above, over: au-dessus des genoux.^[4][2]
2. Au-dessus de: more than, beyond: au-dessus de zéro, au-dessus de sept ans.^[2][3]
3. Au-dessus de: upstream of, north of: au-dessus de Paris.^[2][4]
4. (figurative) Être au-dessus de: to be superior to, above: au-dessus de tout soupçon.^[4]

Related words

• dessus
• au-dessous
• par-dessus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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