desto

English

Etymology

Abbreviation of destination.

Noun

desto (plural destos)

1. (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.

Danish

Conjunction

desto

1. the

   jo større den bliver, desto hårdere bliver den

   the larger it becomes, the harder it becomes

Synonyms

• des, jo

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛstoː/

• Audio

  (file)

Conjunction

desto

1. 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!

Derived terms

• nichtsdestoweniger, nichtsdestominder, nichtsdestotrotz

Descendants

• → Danish: desto
• → Norwegian:
  • Norwegian Bokmål: desto
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: desto
• → Swedish: desto

Further reading

• “desto” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “desto” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “desto” in Duden online

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈde.sto/, /ˈdɛ.sto/
• Rhymes: -esto, -ɛsto
• Hyphenation: dé‧sto, dè‧sto

Etymology 1

Unsuffixed past participle of destare (“to awaken”).

Participle

desto (feminine desta, masculine plural desti, feminine plural deste)

1. (archaic) past participle of destare

Adjective

desto (feminine desta, masculine plural desti, feminine plural deste)

1. awake

Etymology 2

Verb

desto

1. first-person singular present indicative of destare

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From German desto.

Adverb

desto (also functioning as a conjunction)

1. (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.

2. (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

• desto bedre
• desto mer
• ikke desto mindre

References

• “desto” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “desto” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From German desto.

Adverb

desto (also functioning as a conjunction)

1. (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.

2. 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

• desto betre
• desto meir
• ikkje desto mindre

References

• “desto” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “desto” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Spanish

Etymology

• preposition de + determiner esto

Contraction

desto

1. (obsolete) of this

Related terms

Further reading

• “desto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from German desto.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adverb

desto

1. the, all the (with a comparative)

   Vi äter inte mycket, men dricker desto mer.

   We don't eat much, but drink all the more.

   1. 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

• desto in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• desto in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• desto in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• stode