preposition
de
DEH
preposition
1
Used in French (and some other European) surnames and titles of nobility, meaning "of" or "from."
"The letter was signed by a Monsieur de Villiers."
noun
1
The name of the Cyrillic letter Д/д.
"In Russian, the word "dom" begins with the letter de."
interjection
1
A meaningless syllable used to carry a tune or mark a rhythm when singing, similar to "la" or "da."
"She hummed "de de de" while trying to remember the melody."
How to Use De
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMost 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.
Word Forms
des plural, dEs plural
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The letter was signed by a Monsieur _____ Villiers.
Etymology
The nobility particle comes from Latin "de" ("from, of"), inherited into French. The Cyrillic letter name is borrowed from Russian.