Etymologically
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dessous

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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