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desursum

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word desursum

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 35–95/96 AD, Quintilian
Ultimate origin
Latin dē,sūrsum
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin de
French de
Italian da
Italian di
Italian dove
Latin desursum
French dessus
From the same root
Latin deforis ← de
Latin deintus ← de
Latin denuo ← de
Latin deretro ← de
Latin desuper ← de
French davantage ← de
French debout ← de
French devant ← de
Italian dappertutto ← da
Italian davvero ← da
French au-dessus ← dessus

Forms

dēsūrsum (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē (“from”) + sūrsum (“upwards, above”).[2][1][3] It is often spelt ⟨dēsūsum⟩.[2][4] Donatus notes that a preposition is not joined to an adverb, although ⟨dēsūrsum⟩ is read in texts.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Quintilian already knows it as a spoken form, citing it as a barbarism made by adding a syllable;[2] in texts it is read from the Old Latin Bible and Tertullian on, meaning “from above”.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

In the Bible translations it renders Greek “from above”, of dew from heaven, of water coming down and of what is given from God, and is often opposed to deorsum.[2][6] Medieval writers use it for “from above, from heaven, from God”, for “up above, in heaven”,[7] and in Britain also for “upwards”, “upstream” and as a preposition, “above”.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian cites it as a barbarism.[2][3]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in De praescriptione.[5][4][3]
  • after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it of the dew of heaven.[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. From above.[5][6][1]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) From on high, from heaven, from God.[7][8]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Up above; in heaven.[7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Upwards; upstream.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Desursum.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/desursum. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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