above

Etymology

above (sense 2) a square]] From Middle English above, aboven, abuven, from Old English ābufan, onbufan, from on (“on”) + bufan (“over”), (akin to Icelandic ofan (“from above”), Middle Dutch bōven, Old Frisian bova, Middle High German bobene) from bī (“by”) + ufan (“over”); also cognate with Danish oven, Dutch boven, German oben, Swedish ovan, Old Saxon oƀan, Old High German obana. The preposition, adjective and the noun derive from the adverb.

prep

1. Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said of clothing.
   He always put his coat on above his sweater.
2. In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface.
   Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them. 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7
3. Farther north than.
   Idaho is above Utah.
4. Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise.
5. (figurative) Higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts.
   Even the chief of police is not above suspicion.
   He was always above reproach.
   I thought you said you were above these kinds of antics.
   That's above my comprehension.
   to cut above average
   Thy worth, sweet friend, is far above my gifts, 1594, Christopher Marlowe, Edward II, act I, scene i
6. Higher in rank, status, or position.
   to stand head and shoulders above the rest
7. (Scotland) In addition to; besides.
   above and beyond the call of duty
   over and above
8. Surpassing in number or quantity; more than.
   That amount is way above our asking price.
9. In preference to.
10. Too proud to stoop to; averse to; disinclined towards;
    The owner was above taking more than a token salary.
11. Beyond; on the other side.
12. (theater) Upstage of.

adv

1. Directly overhead; vertically on top of.
   Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything. 2013-05-11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80
2. Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go.
   Nobody has lived in it since the summer of 1879, and it is fast going to pieces. For some three years before the date mentioned above, it was occupied by the family of Charles May 1913, Ambrose Bierce, Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories
   That angels are men in the most complete form, and enjoy every sense, may be seen above (n. 73-77); and that the light in heaven is far brighter than the light in the world (n. 126-132). 1905, Emanuel Swedenborg, chapter 19, in Heaven and Hell
3. Into or from heaven; in the sky.
   He's in a better place now, floating free as the clouds above.
4. In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream.
5. Higher in rank, power, or position.
   He appealed to the court above.
6. (archaic) In addition.
7. More in number.
8. Above zero; above freezing.
   It was a cold day at only 5 above.
9. (biology) On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.
   The sparrow I saw was rufous above and off-white below.

adj

1. Of heaven; heavenly.
2. (by ellipsis) Being located higher on the same page or on a preceding page.

noun

1. Heaven.
   A brother from another mother, sent from the above. 1998, “Twinz”, in Capital Punishment, performed by Big Pun and Fat Joe
2. Something, especially a person's name in legal documents, that appears higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
3. Higher authority.
4. (archaic) betterment, raised status or condition.
   Withal they saw of him that he had no doubt but that they should come to their above on the morrow, 1896, William Morris, The Well at the World's End