de

The word “de” means used in French (and some other European) surnames and titles of nobility, meaning "of" or "from.". In plain terms, most commonly the small "of/from" word found in French names like "de Gaulle," though it also names a Cyrillic letter and can be a nonsense singing syllable.

“De” is pronounced DEH (/ˈdɛ/ in IPA).

Here is “de” used in a sentence: “The letter was signed by a Monsieur de Villiers.”

Depending on how it is used, “de” can be a preposition, a noun and an interjection.

The word “de” comes from Latin. The nobility particle comes from Latin "de" ("from, of"), inherited into French. The Cyrillic letter name is borrowed from Russian.

“De” is a very common word in modern English.

“De” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: used in French (and some other European) surnames and titles of nobility, meaning "of" or "from.".

In French and several other European surnames, 'de' means 'of' or 'from.' It originally linked a person to a place or estate they came from or ruled — so a name like 'de Bourbon' meant 'of Bourbon.' Over time it became a fixed part of many family names.

Both are nobiliary particles meaning 'of' or 'from,' but they belong to different languages. 'De' is French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian; 'von' is German and Austrian. Each historically signalled a link to a place or noble estate, and both survive today as parts of many surnames.

Usually it is written in lower case when the full name is given, as in 'Charles de Gaulle.' However, when the surname stands alone at the start of a sentence, or by local convention, it may be capitalised — 'De Gaulle said.' Practice varies between individuals and countries.

French statesman Charles de Gaulle is a well-known case, as is the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and the writer Simone de Beauvoir. In each, 'de' sits between the first name and a family name that often began as a place, meaning roughly 'of' or 'from' that location.