sans

See also: şans and såns

English

WOTD – 31 May 2010

Etymology 1

From Middle English saunz, sans, borrowed from Old French sans, senz, sens, from Latin sine (“without”) conflated with absēns (“absent, remote”). Compare French sans, Italian senza, Portuguese sem, and Spanish sin.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /sænz/, (uncommon outside French idioms) /sɑ̃/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænz
• Homophone: sands (some speakers)

Preposition

sans

1. (literary, now chiefly humorous or defective) Without; lacking.

   Synonyms: minus, without

   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC; republished as Shakspere’s Loves Labours Lost (Shakspere-Quarto Facsimiles; no. 5), London: W[illiam] Griggs, […], [1880], →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], signature H3, recto, lines 414–416:

     Bero[wne]. […] And to begin Wench, ſo God helpe me law,
     My loue to thee is ſound, ſance cracke or flaw.
     Roſa[line]. Sans, ſans, I pray you.

   • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Qutet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 766:

     Those with brooms started to sweep literally, at the feet of the crowd, driving it back into the side streets from which it had emerged to form this assembly – now riders sans steeds.

   • 1991, A. R. Morlan, The Amulet, page 212:

     But regardless of when Wally had parked himself out in that backyard—sans coat or jacket—somehow, the old lady must have known where Wally would be before he drove out to the Isaacs trailer—or else she followed him out there from his house.

   • 2007 September 4, Natalie Angier, “A Supple Casing, Prone to Damage”, in New York Times‎:

     Skin needs ultraviolet radiation to begin the synthesis of vitamin D, but dermatologists say you can probably get the necessary electromagnetic input from a mere 20 minutes of sun exposure a week, as you go about your daily affairs, sunblocked and sans beach.

   • 2023 June 25, HarryBlank, “Transposthumousism”, in SCP Foundation‎, archived from the original on 18 December 2024:

     The fella in question was still sitting at his table, sans everything above the neckerchief. There was blood everywhere, and brain matter, and bits of skull, and what looked like very expensive bone china.

Related terms

• belle dame sans merci
• retour sans protêt
• sans-culotte
• sans-culotterie
• sans-culottic
• sans-culottide
• sans-culottish
• sans-culottism
• sans-culottist
• sans doute
• sans égal
• sans gêne
• sans nombre
• sans rival
• sans-serif
• sans-souci

Translations

without — see without

Adjective

sans (not comparable)

1. (typography) Ellipsis of sans serif.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

sans

1. plural of san

Anagrams

• ANSs, Ass'n, Nass, SNAs, ass'n, ass'n., assn, assn.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈsans]

Adjective

sans

1. masculine plural of sa

Noun

sans

1. plural of san

Cornish

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *sant. Cognate with Welsh sant.

Noun

sans m (plural sens)

1. saint

Adjective

sans

1. holy

Franco-Provençal

Adjective

sans

1. masculine plural of san

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French sans, senz, sens, from Latin sine conflated with absentia in the sense "without". Cognates include Spanish sin, Portuguese sem, Italian senza, Catalan sens, sense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɑ̃/, (in liaison) /sɑ̃.z‿/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Homophones: cent, cents, sang, sangs, sens, sent
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃

Preposition

sans

1. without (not having)

   Je ne veux pas partir sans toi.

   I cannot leave without you.

2. without (not doing or having done) [with infinitive]

   Elle est partie sans parler à personne.

   She left without talking to anyone.

Derived terms

• aller sans dire
• faire sans
• sans aucun doute
• sans que

Further reading

• “sans”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Preposition

sans

1. alternative form of saunz

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French senz.

Preposition

sans

1. without

Descendants

• French: sans

Norman

Etymology

From Old French sans, senz, sens, from Latin sine conflated with absentia in the sense "without".

Preposition

sans

1. (Jersey) without
   • 1903, Edgar MacCulloch, “Proverbs, Weather Sayings, etc.”, in Guernsey Folk Lore‎, page 520:

     I' n'y a pas de rue sàns but.

     There is no road without an ending.

Antonyms

• avec

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin sensus, via French sens.

Noun

sans m (definite singular sansen, indefinite plural sanser, definite plural sansene)

1. sense

Derived terms

• sanselig
• sansemessig

References

• “sans” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin sensus, via French sens.

Noun

sans m (definite singular sansen, indefinite plural sansar, definite plural sansane)

1. sense

Derived terms

• sanseleg
• sansemessig

References

• “sans” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from French sens, from Latin sēnsus, from sentīre.

Noun

sans c

1. composure, sense

   tappa sansen

   lose one's composure

   komma till sans

   come to one's senses

Declension

Declension of sans

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	sans	sans
	definite	sansen	sansens
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Related terms

• sansa

References

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