lors de

Definition & meaning

The French phrase "lors de" is a compound preposition used to indicate the timing of an event. It most commonly translates to "during," "at the time of," or "in the course of" in English. It is used to situate an action within the specific context or timeframe of a particular occasion or event.

For example, "lors de son voyage" means "during his/her trip." It focuses on a specific event rather than a vague period of time.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammatically, "lors de" is followed by a noun or a noun phrase. It cannot be followed directly by a verb.

The word "lors" comes from the Old French "l'ore," which means "the hour." It originally derives from the Latin "illa hora" (at that hour). Over time, "lors" became an adverb signifying "then" or "at that time," and when combined with the preposition "de," it formed the fixed locution used today to link two temporal concepts.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms: The most frequent synonyms are pendant↗, which is the most general term for "during"; au cours de[?](vocabuo://word/au cours de), which suggests a process or a progression; durant↗, which is slightly more formal; and au moment de[?](vocabuo://word/au moment de), which refers to a more precise point in time.

Antonyms: While there is no direct lexical opposite, the temporal opposites are avant↗ (before) and après↗ (after), as they indicate that an action happened outside the timeframe of the referenced event. When referring to being outside the scope of an event, one might use en dehors de[?](vocabuo://word/en dehors de).