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dessous

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Etymology and origin of the French word dessous

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion de Clermont
Inherited from
Latin desubtus via Old French

Pronunciation

Forms

dessous (adverb and preposition, invariable); noun m (invariable)[1] Old French desoz (about 980) and desuz (about 1100); dessous is a remaking of the late 12th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French desoz, inherited from Late Latin dēsubtus (“beneath”), a compound of dē (“from”) and the adverb subtus (“below”), recorded from the 4th century first as a preposition and then as an adverb, perhaps on the model of the older dēsuper.[2][3][5] It is felt in French as de + sous, which itself comes from the same Latin adverb.[6][7]

Littré compares Old Occitan desotz and Italian di sotto.[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a preposition meaning “under, below” it is found as desoz in the Clermont Passion (late 10th century); the adverb desuz and the phrase de desuz appear in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100).[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the preposition shared many uses of sous: “under the walls of” a town (about 1150), rank (desous Diu “after God”, 1167) and subordination (about 1175).[3] It was still used alone until the 17th century, as in La Fontaine, but today only after another preposition: de dessous, par-dessous (about 1130, par desoz).[7][4][3] The adverb formed là-dessous (about 1250), ci-dessous (1343) and en dessous, with regards en dessous “shifty looks” in 1746.[3][2] Sens dessus dessous goes back to ce desouz deseure (1205–50) and was later written sans dessus dessous.[2]

As a noun, le dessous “the underside” dates from 1393;[7] être dans le troisième dessous (1864) “to be in a desperate plight” comes from the theatre, whose understage had three levels.[7]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – Desoz in the Clermont Passion.[2]
  • c. 1100 – The adverb desuz in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1130 – Par desoz.[3]
  • 1205–50 – Ce desouz deseure, ancestor of sens dessus dessous.[2]
  • 1343 – Ci-dessous.[3]
  • 1393 – Used as a noun.[7]
  • 1746 – Regards en dessous.[2]
  • 1864 – Être dans le troisième dessous.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Underneath, on the lower side: le prix est écrit dessous.[9][1]
  2. En dessous: on the underside, par-dessous: passing under, là-dessous: under that, behind that.[9][3]
  3. Bras dessus, bras dessous: arm in arm, sens dessus dessous: upside down, in complete disorder.[9][1]

Preposition

  1. (archaic) Under; now only in de dessous and par-dessous: tirer une lettre de dessous la pile.[9][4]

Noun

  1. The underside, the lower part: le dessous d'une table, l'étage du dessous, the floor below.[9][1]
  2. Dessous de…: a mat or stand put under something: dessous-de-plat, dessous de verre.[9][1]
  3. The hidden side of things: le dessous des cartes.[9][1]
  4. (in the plural) Women's underwear.[9][1]
  5. Avoir le dessous: to get the worst of it, to be at a disadvantage.[1][9]

Word family

  • au-dessous
  • ci-dessous
  • par-dessous
  • en dessous
  • là-dessous
  • dessous-de-plat

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 370b
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Dessous.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/dessous. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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