above
əˈbʌv
Why a fever and a voice in a noisy room use the same word
The picture Something floats higher than you, not touching, simply up there. BELOW sits under the reference line; ABOVE has risen past it.
Where the picture shows up in above
-
up over your head
The clock is above the door.
ðə klɑːk ɪz əˈbʌv ðə dɔːr
The clock hangs over the door.
A clock on the wall higher than the door frame.
Unlike on, it is not touching — it just sits higher.
-
past the mark
His temperature is a little above normal.
hɪz ˈtemprətʃər ɪz ə ˈlɪtl̩ əˈbʌv ˈnɔːrml̩
His temperature is slightly higher than normal.
The red column on a thermometer risen past the normal line.
-
higher up the page
See the note above for the return policy.
siː ðə noʊt əˈbʌv fər ðə rɪˈtɜːrn ˈpɑːləsi
For returns, see the note higher up.
A finger pointing at a line printed above the one you are reading.
-
a step up in rank
She is two levels above me in the company.
ʃiː ɪz tuː ˈlevəlz əˈbʌv miː ɪn ðə ˈkʌmpəni
She is two steps senior to me at work.
A name sitting two boxes higher than yours on the org chart.
-
lifted over the sound
I could not hear you above the noise.
aɪ kʊd nɑːt hɪr juː əˈbʌv ðə nɔɪz
It was too loud for me to hear you.
A voice poking its head out over a layer of humming noise.
All of it in one picture
ABOVE is one place: higher than the line you measure from. Let the line be a door and the clock hangs over it; let it be normal temperature and a fever rises past it; let it be the line you are reading and the note sits higher up the page; let it be your own rank and someone stands two steps up; let it be the noise in the room and a voice lifts its head over it. Wherever above appears, something is floating clear of the line.