above

/euh buv"/, adv.

1. in, at, or to a higher place.

2. overhead, upstairs, or in the sky: My brother lives in the apartment above. A flock of birds circled above.

3. higher in rank, authority, or power: She was told to speak to the person above.

4. higher in quantity or number: books with 100 pages and above.

5. before or earlier, esp. in a book or other piece of writing; foregoing: the remark quoted above. Cf. below (def. 6).

6. in or to heaven: gone to her eternal rest above.

7. Zool. on the upper or dorsal side.

8. Theat. upstage. Cf. below (def. 9).

9. higher than zero on the temperature scale: The temperature dropped to ten above this morning.

prep.

10. in or to a higher place than; over: to fly above the clouds; the floor above ours.

11. more in quantity or number than; in excess of: all girls above 12 years of age; The weight is above a ton.

12. superior in rank, authority, or standing to: A captain is above a lieutenant.

13. not subject or liable to; not capable of (some undesirable action, thought, etc.): above suspicion; to be above bad behavior.

14. of too fine a character for: He is above such trickery.

15. rather than; in preference to: to favor one child above the other.

16. beyond, esp. north of: six miles above Baltimore.

17. Theat. upstage of.

18. above all, most important of all; principally: charity above all.

adj.

19. said, mentioned, or written above; foregoing: the above explanation.

n.

20. something that was said, mentioned, or written above: to refer to the above.

21. the person or persons previously indicated: The above will all stand trial.

22. heaven: truly a gift from above.

23. a higher authority: an order from above.

[bef. 900; ME above(n) (Cf. aboon), OE abufan, onbufan (A-¹, on + bufan above (c. D boven), equiv. to b(e) BY + ufan, c. OFris uva, OS oban(a), OHG obana, G oben, ON ofan above; akin to OVER); see UP; cf. ABOUT for formation]

Usage. ABOVE as an adjective (the above data) or as a noun (study the above) referring to what has been mentioned earlier in a piece of writing has long been standard. A few critics object to these uses in general writing, believing that they are more appropriate in business or technical contexts; they occur, however, in all kinds of edited writing.

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