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.

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DE ² American  

abbreviation

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

2. destroyer escort.

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de' ³ American  

[duh, de] / də, dɛ /

preposition

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

   de' Medici.

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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 ).

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D.E. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Doctor of Engineering.

2. driver education.

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de- ¹ British  

prefix

1. removal of or from something specified

   deforest

   dethrone

2. reversal of something

   decode

   decompose

   desegregate

3. departure from

   decamp

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DE ² British  

abbreviation

1. (formerly in Britain) Department of Employment

2. Delaware

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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

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de ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Germany

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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

They argued in court that both men had abused their government positions and contacts to favour businessman Victor de Aldama, who has already admitted his role in the vast and complex affair.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

These findings are the result of nearly ten years of collaborative work between Araneda's lab at UMD and the laboratory of María de los Ángeles García-Robles at the University of Concepción, the project's principal investigator.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

And just like in the first, fifth and sixth frames, Zhao ruthlessly won them all ruthlessly and he applied the coup de grace with his sixth half century of the match.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Specific attention must also be paid to Jane de Wet’s performance, which nips at the heels of the women who led the great ’90s thrillers.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

As an example, consider the phrase “joie de vivre.”

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood