English Explanatory Dictionary

above

English dictionary entry

Meanings

prep
  1. Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said of clothing.
  2. In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface.
  3. Farther north than.
  4. Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise.
  5. Higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts.
  6. Higher in rank, status, or position.
  7. In addition to; besides.
  8. Surpassing in number or quantity; more than.
  9. In preference to.
  10. Too proud to stoop to; averse to; disinclined towards;
  11. Beyond; on the other side.
  12. Upstage of.
adv
  1. Directly overhead; vertically on top of.
  2. Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go.
  3. Into or from heaven; in the sky.
  4. In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream.
  5. Higher in rank, power, or position.
  6. In addition.
  7. More in number.
  8. Above zero; above freezing.
  9. On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.
adj
  1. Of heaven; heavenly.
  2. Being located higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
noun
  1. Heaven.
  2. Something, especially a person's name in legal documents, that appears higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
  3. Higher authority.
  4. betterment, raised status or condition.

Pronunciation

/əˈbʌv/ ə-bŭvʹ en-us-above.ogg /əˈbʊv/

Word forms

above aboue

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Old English ar- Old English ā- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Germanic *ub Proto-Germanic *-anē Proto-Germanic *ubanē Proto-West Germanic *obanā Proto-West Germanic *biobanā Old English bufan Old English abūfan Middle English aboven English above From Middle English above, aboven, abuven, from Old English ābufan, onbufan, from on (“on”) + bufan (“over”), (akin to Icelandic ofan (“from above”), Middle Dutch bōven, Old Frisian bova, Middle High German bobene) from bī (“by”) + ufan (“over”); also cognate with Danish oven, Dutch boven, German oben, Swedish ovan, Old Saxon oƀan, Old High German obana. The preposition, the adjective, and the noun derive from the adverb.

Antonyms

below beneath

Related words

abovesaid aboves'd

Derived words

above a bit above all above and beyond above average above-board above board abovedeck Above Derwent abovedescribed above grass above ground aboveground above-ground above-line abovelisted above measure abovementioned aboveness above one's bend above oneself above one's huckleberry above one's pay grade above one's paygrade above one's station above par above proof abovesigned abovestairs above stairs above-stairs abovestated above the board above the curve above the fold above-the-fold above the fray above the law above the line above the neck rule above the rim above the salt above the table above-water above water a notch above brood above Caesar's wife must be above suspicion cut above don't get above your raising get above oneself gift from above heavens above height above average terrain hell from above hereabove hereinabove hit above one's weight hold one's head above water hook above huckleberry above a persimmon

Translations

Finnish: ylle Finnish: yli Spanish: fuera de alcance Spanish: sobre Tamil: மேலே Arabic: أَكْثٰر Bulgarian: освен това Bulgarian: още повече Dutch: over Dutch: meer dan French: plus de German: über Hebrew: מעל Northern Kurdish: zêdeyî Latin: super Latin: suprā Marathi: आणखी Norwegian: over Polish: ponad Portuguese: acima de Portuguese: mais que Portuguese: mais de Russian: свы́ше Scots: abune Scots: aboon Slovak: nad Slovak: za Slovene: nad Turkish: daha Walloon: pus ki Walloon: dipus ki Finnish: yli
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