par-dessus

\paʁ də.sy\

/\paʁ də.sy\/ prep

The verdict

“par-dessus” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a preposition. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sur ; au-delà de ; par-delà.

Corpus desk

Index FR-par-dessus · par-dessus · French

par-dessus · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for par-dessus
PropertyValue
Headwordpar-dessus
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPreposition
IPA\paʁ də.sy\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « par-dessus » en français

par-dessusn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

par-dessus is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as apreposition, transcribed \paʁ də.sy\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sur ; au-delà de ; par-delà.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for par-dessus in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is par-dessus, spelled P-A-R---D-E-S-S-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sur ; au-delà de ; par-delà.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how par-dessus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Maxime, refasciné par la beauté du mobilier, qui pour un tapissier aurait valu six mille francs, trouva le malheureux vieillard, jaune de sa jaunisse, au coin du feu, la tête enveloppée dans deux madras, et un bonnet de coton par-dessus, emmitouflé comme un lustre, abattu, ne pouvant pas parler, enfin si délabré, que le comte fut forcé de s’entendre avec…
  2. Une corde, munie d’une sorte de ralingue, avait été lancée par-dessus le vide et s’était accrochée à un fragment de garde-fou.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "par-dessus"?
"par-dessus" is spelled P-A-R---D-E-S-S-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is \paʁ də.sy\.
What does "par-dessus" mean?
As a preposition, "par-dessus" means: Sur ; au-delà de ; par-delà.
How do you pronounce "par-dessus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "par-dessus" is \paʁ də.sy\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "par-dessus" come from?
"par-dessus" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list