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dessus

Etymology and origin of the French word dessus

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1119, Philippe de Thaon (desus)
Inherited from
Latin desursum via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (sūrsum)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French dessus
French au-dessus

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /də.sy/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): /tsy/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): /desyr/[1]

Forms

dessus[1] Old French desuz, desus (1119), dessus from 1165; beside them desor, desur, from Latin dēsuper.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French desus, inherited from Late Latin dēsūrsum (“from above”), a compound of dē and sūrsum (“up, upward”).[3][2][1][4] “Dēsūrsum” was a word of popular Latin under the Empire, condemned by Quintilian as a barbarism; it appears in Christian writers as preposition and adverb, usually spelled “desusum”.[3][2] It was probably formed on the model of the older “dē super”, with which it competed: Old French had both “desus” and “desor”, “desur”, and “desus” won.[3][2] “Sūrsum” itself is formed from sub and “versum”.[2] The Robert dictionaries describe it as French de with sur or sus.[5][6]

Compare Old Occitan desobre and Italian disopra.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon (1119) uses la desus “on that subject”; the Chanson de Roland has the related desuz and desur: allez sedeir desur cel paile blanc “go and sit upon that white cloak”.[3][2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 12th century it meant “in a higher position” (Wace, 1155, desus e desuz), and formed par desus (about 1176) and en dessus (about 1195).[3] As a preposition it was common in Old French (about 1150) but gave way to sur in the 17th century, Furetière (1701) notes that sur is more usual, and dessus survives only after another preposition: de dessus, par-dessus.[3][2][8]

As a noun it is found from 1155 in avoir le dessus “to have the upper hand”, and it gave au-dessus and au-dessus de.[2] It names the top of an object (1393), in music the highest part (1458), and in building objects placed above others (dessus-de-porte, 1653) and the upper floor (1694); dessus-de-lit dates from 1870.[2]

Timeline

  • 1119 – La desus “on that subject”, Philippe de Thaon.[3]
  • c. 1150 – As a preposition, Voyage de Charlemagne.[3]
  • 1155 – Avoir le dessus, desus e desuz, Wace.[2][3]
  • 1393 – The top of an object.[2]
  • 1458 – The highest part in music.[2]
  • 1701 – Furetière notes that sur is preferred as a preposition.[3]
  • 1870 – Dessus-de-lit.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. On it, on top: l'adresse est dessus, asseyez-vous dessus.[6][1]
  2. Là-dessus: on that; thereupon; about that.[7][2]
  3. Au-dessus: above, au-dessus de, above, over; beyond.[2][6]
  4. Bras dessus, bras dessous: arm in arm, sens dessus dessous, upside down.[1][3]

Preposition

  1. (dated) On, upon; now only in de dessus and par-dessus: ôtez cela de dessus la table, sauter par-dessus le mur.[6][8]

Noun

  1. The top, upper side: le dessus de la main, les voisins du dessus, the upstairs neighbours.[6][9]
  2. Avoir, prendre le dessus: to have, gain the upper hand; to get over something.[9][3]
  3. Le dessus du panier: the pick of the bunch.[6][9]
  4. A cover: dessus-de-lit, dessus-de-plat.[6][2]
  5. (music, dated) The highest part or voice; the treble instrument: dessus de viole.[3][6]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 463b
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Derived terms

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Dessus.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/dessus. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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