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desto. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
desto, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
desto in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
desto you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Abbreviation of destination.
Noun
desto (plural destos)
- (informal, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand) a headsign; a destination sign: a moveable or electronic display mounted on a bus or other public transport vehicle to indicate its intended route and destination.
- When you arrive at the terminus, remember to change your desto.
Anagrams
Danish
Conjunction
desto
- the (forming the parallel comparative with jo)
- jo større den bliver, desto hårdere bliver den
- the larger it becomes, the harder it becomes
Synonyms
German
Etymology
From Old High German des diu, where des and diu are the genitive and instrumental case forms of Old High German daz n (“the; that, it”) respectively. Compare Dutch des te and English the ... the. Etymologically equivalent to des + die.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
desto
- the (forming the parallel comparative with je)
- Synonym: umso
- Je mehr, desto besser! ― The more the better!
- Je eher, desto besser! ― The sooner the better!
- (informal, proscribed) used instead of je in the je ... desto construction
- Desto mehr, desto besser ― The more the better
Derived terms
Descendants
Further reading
Italian
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Unsuffixed past participle of destare (“to awaken”).
Participle
desto (feminine desta, masculine plural desti, feminine plural deste)
- (archaic) past participle of destare
Adjective
desto (feminine desta, masculine plural desti, feminine plural deste)
- awake
Etymology 2
Verb
desto
- first-person singular present indicative of destare
References
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From German desto.
Adverb
desto (also functioning as a conjunction)
- (used before a comparative with jo to express comparison) even, all the more
- Vel, han røyker jo mye, men drikker desto mer. ― Well, he does smoke a lot, but drinks even more.
- (forming the parallel comparative with jo) the, more
- Jo mer jeg tenker over det, desto merkeligere virker det. ― The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.
Derived terms
References
- “desto” in The Ordnett Dictionary
- “desto” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From German desto.
Adverb
desto (also functioning as a conjunction)
- (used before a comparative to express comparison) all the better, all the more
Vel, han røykjer jo mykje, men drikk desto meir.- Well, he does smoke much, but drinks all the more.
- the more (forming the parallel comparative with jo, compare German section)
Jo meir eg tenkjer over det, desto merkeligare verkar det.- The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.
Derived terms
References
- “desto” in The Ordnett Dictionary
- “desto” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Spanish
Etymology
- preposition de + determiner esto
Contraction
desto
- (obsolete) of this
Further reading
Swedish
Etymology
Borrowed from German desto.
Pronunciation
Adverb
desto
- the, all the (with a comparative)
Vi äter inte mycket, men dricker desto mer.- We don't eat much, but drink all the more.
- Forms a parallel comparative with ju.
Ju mer, desto bättre- The more, the better
Usage notes
Colloquially, desto as a parallel comparative is sometimes replaced by a second ju: "Ju mer, ju bättre." "Desto mer, desto bättre" also occurs.
References
Anagrams