Jump To:

• des
  des

  preposition

  used in French names as a contraction of de and the article les: François des Adrets.
• DES
  DES

  abbreviation

  diethylstilbestrol.
• -des
  -des

  a plural suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek.

des

¹ American  

[dey] / deɪ /

preposition

1. used in French names as a contraction of de and the article les: François des Adrets.

---

DES ² American  

abbreviation

1. diethylstilbestrol.

---

-des ³ American  

1. a plural suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek.

   proboscides.

---

DES British  

abbreviation

1. Department of Education and Science

---

DES Scientific  

/ dē′ē-ĕs′ /

1. Short for diethylstilbestrol. A synthetic nonsteroidal substance having estrogenic properties and prescribed between 1938 and 1971 to pregnant women with a history of miscarriage and other problems of pregnancy. It is no longer used due to the incidence of certain vaginal cancers and other disorders in the daughters of women so treated.

---

Etymology

Origin of -des

< Greek, nominative plural of d- stem nouns

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

des DES

The young Ander watched from home as his team beat Arsenal to clinch the trophy in the Parc des Princes, the home of PSG - a club he later spent three years at.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The theft also triggered an internal crisis at the Louvre, leading to the replacement of its president Laurence des Cars by Leribault.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

The collection was unveiled at an elaborate event at the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay, just outside Paris.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Also of note, Paramount recently added all five seasons of “The Bureau” — aka “Le Bureau des Légendes” — the original French series that “The Agency” was adapted from.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

He sits on a bench and sketches the town houses in the Place des Vosges, walks along the desolate gravel paths in the Luxembourg Gardens.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Brett Bezio, a spokesperson for DES, said the agency is focusing on reducing the state’s error rate to ensure “the program remains a stable resource for vulnerable Arizonans.”

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

Last summer, DES also laid off about 500 employees in response to the elimination of federal grants and in anticipation of additional federal cuts.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

DES MOINES, Iowa — For Democrats in Iowa, this year’s Super Tuesday is a break from five decades of tradition in how the state gets its say in helping determine the presidential nominee.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

DES mapped an area almost one-eighth the entire sky using the Dark Energy Camera, a 570-megapixel digital camera built by Fermilab and funded by the DOE Office of Science.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 8, 2024

It was her influence that gave its first impulse to the success of Montesquieu's esprit DES LOIS, of which she personally bought and distributed many copies.

From The Women of the French Salons by Amelia Ruth Gere Mason