Above

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Preposition, Adverb
• HYPHEN: a=bove

CIDE DICTIONARY

Above, prep. [OE. above, aboven, abuffe, AS. abufon; an (or on) on + be by + ufan upward; cf. Goth. uf under. √199. See Over.].

•  In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface; over; -- opposed to below or beneath.  [1913 Webster]

  "Fowl that may fly above the earth."  [1913 Webster]
•  Figuratively, higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; beyond; higher in measure or degree than; as, things above comprehension; above mean actions; conduct above reproach.  Marlowe.  [1913 Webster]

  "I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun."  [1913 Webster]
•  Surpassing in number or quantity; more than; as, above a hundred. (Passing into the adverbial sense. See Above, adv., 4.)  [1913 Webster]

above all, before every other consideration; chiefly; in preference to other things.

Over and above, prep. or adv., besides; in addition to.

Above, adv. 

•  In a higher place; overhead; into or from heaven; as, the clouds above.  [1913 Webster]
•  Earlier in order; higher in the same page; hence, in a foregoing page.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]
•  Higher in rank or power; as, he appealed to the court above.  [1913 Webster]
•  More than; as, above five hundred were present.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Above, prep., adv., adj., & n.
--prep.
1 over; on the top of; higher (vertically, up a slope or stream etc.) than; over the surface of (head above water; above the din).
2 more than (above twenty people; above average).
3 higher in rank, position, importance, etc., than (above all).
4 a too great or good for (above one's station; is not above cheating at cards). b beyond the reach of; not affected by (above my understanding; above suspicion).
5 archaic to an earlier time than (not traced above the third century).
--adv.
1 at or to a higher point; overhead (the floor above; the clouds above).
2 a upstairs (lives above). b upstream.
3 (of a text reference) further back on a page or in a book (as noted above).
4 on the upper side (looks similar above and below).
5 in addition (over and above).
6 rhet. in heaven (Lord above!).
--adj. mentioned earlier; preceding (the above argument).
--n. (prec. by the) what is mentioned above (the above shows).

Idiom

above-board adj. & adv. without concealment; fair or fairly; open or openly. above ground alive. above one's head see HEAD. above oneself conceited, arrogant.

Etymology

A(2) + OE bufan f. be = BY + ufan above

THESAURUS

Above

a cut above, above all, above and beyond, abovestairs, additionally, again, ahead, airward, all included, aloft, aloof, also, altogether, among other things, and all, and also, and so, ante, as well, ascendant, at bottom, atop, au reste, before, before everything, beside, besides, better, beyond, capping, chiefly, chosen, distinguished, eclipsing, else, eminent, en plus, essentially, exceeding, excellent, excelling, extra, farther, finer, first of all, for lagniappe, further, furthermore, greater, hereinabove, hereinbefore, high, high up, higher, highest, in addition, in ascendancy, in excess of, in the air, in the ascendant, in the clouds, inter alia, into the bargain, item, likewise, mainly, major, marked, more, moreover, of choice, on, on high, on stilts, on the peak, on the side, on tiptoe, on top of, one up on, outstanding, over, over and above, overhead, past, plus, primarily, rare, rivaling, similarly, skyward, straight up, super, superior, supra, surpassing, then, therewith, tiptoe, to boot, to the zenith, too, too deep for, topping, transcendent, transcendental, transcending, up, upmost, upon, upper, uppermost, upstairs, upward, upwards, yet

ROGET THESAURUS

Above

Height

N height, altitude, elevation, eminence, pitch, loftiness, sublimity, tallness, stature, procerity, prominence, colossus, giant, grenadier, giraffe, camelopard, mount, mountain, hill alto, butte, monticle, fell, knap, cape, headland, foreland, promontory, ridge, hog's back, dune, rising ground, vantage ground, down, moor, moorland, Alp, uplands, highlands, heights, knob, loma, pena, picacho, tump, knoll, hummock, hillock, barrow, mound, mole, steeps, bluff, cliff, craig, tor, peak, pike, clough, escarpment, edge, ledge, brae, dizzy height, tower, pillar, column, obelisk, monument, steeple, spire, minaret, campanile, turret, dome, cupola, skyscraper, pole, pikestaff, maypole, flagstaff, top mast, topgallant mast, ceiling, high water, high tide, flood tide, spring tide, altimetry, batophobia, satellite, spy-in-the-sky, high, elevated, eminent, exalted, lofty, tall, gigantic, Patagonian, towering, beetling, soaring, hanging (gardens), elevated, upper, highest, high reaching, insessorial, perching, upland, moorland, hilly, knobby, mountainous, alpine, subalpine, heaven kissing, cloudtopt, cloudcapt, cloudtouching, aerial, overhanging, incumbent, overlying, superincumbent, supernatant, superimposed, prominent, tall as a maypole, tall as a poplar, tall as a steeple, lanky, on high, high up, aloft, up, above, aloof, overhead, airwind, upstairs, abovestairs, in the clouds, on tiptoe, on stilts, on the shoulders of, over head and ears, breast high, over, upwards, from top to bottom, e meglio cader dalle finistre che dal tetto.