Jump to:

• de
  de

  preposition

  from; of (used in French, Spanish, and Portuguese personal names, originally to indicate place of origin).
• DE
  DE

  abbreviation

  Delaware (approved especially for use with zip code).
• de'
  de'

  preposition

  dei (used in Italian names as an elided form ofdei ).
• de-
  de-

  a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin (decide ); also used to indicate privation, removal, and separation (dehumidify ), negation (demerit; derange ), descent (degrade; deduce ), reversal (detract ), intensity (decompound ).
• D.E.
  D.E.

  abbreviation

  Doctor of Engineering.

de

¹ American  

[duh, duh, de, di] / də, də, dɛ, dɪ /

preposition

1. from; of (used in French, Spanish, and Portuguese personal names, originally to indicate place of origin).

   Comte de Rochambeau; Don Ricardo de Aragón.

---

DE ² American  

abbreviation

1. Delaware (approved especially for use with zip code).

2. destroyer escort.

---

de' ³ American  

[duh, de] / də, dɛ /

preposition

1. dei (used in Italian names as an elided form ofdei ).

   de' Medici.

---

de- ⁴ American  

1. a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin (decide ); also used to indicate privation, removal, and separation (dehumidify ), negation (demerit; derange ), descent (degrade; deduce ), reversal (detract ), intensity (decompound ).

---

D.E. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Doctor of Engineering.

2. driver education.

---

de- ¹ British  

prefix

1. removal of or from something specified

   deforest

   dethrone

2. reversal of something

   decode

   decompose

   desegregate

3. departure from

   decamp

---

DE ² British  

abbreviation

1. (formerly in Britain) Department of Employment

2. Delaware

---

de ³ British  

/ də /

1. of; from: occurring as part of some personal names and originally indicating place of origin

   Simon de Montfort

   D'Arcy

   de la Mare

---

de ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Germany

---

Etymology

Origin of de¹

From French, Portuguese, Spanish, from Latin dē

Origin of de-⁴

Middle English < Latin dē-, prefixal use of dē (preposition) from, away from, of, out of; in some words, < French < Latin dē- or dis- dis- ¹

Example Sentences

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, said that while the country hopes to avert conflict, it is hardening its defenses.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Drinks had become so de rigeur for me, I hadn’t much considered the benefits of sitting down to dinner, only the drawbacks.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

“There are no good options,” de Mello concludes.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

His son, 40-year-old engineer Nelson Marinho Filho, nearly missed the flight out of Rio de Janeiro's Galeão International Airport and was the last person to board, according to Air France staff.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Not quite to second position port de bras.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day