The phrase d’ores et déjà means “from now on,” “as of now.” It functions as a fixed, invariable adverb, and is always written the same way, without a hyphen, with an initial apostrophe and a grave accent on the final -a of “déjà.”
The word “ores”: a grammatical fossil from medieval French
Most articles on this expression merely remind us of its spelling. However, the most interesting point lies in the word “ores,” which no one uses alone today.
“Ores” comes from the Latin ha hora (“at this hour”). In the Middle Ages, it circulated in several forms: “ore,” “ores,” “or.” It can still be found in the coordinating conjunction “or,” which opens a sentence by linking it to what precedes, and in the word “dorénavant” (from “d’ore en avant,” literally “from this hour onward”).
The phrase “d’ores et déjà” thus combines two terms that, taken separately, each express the idea of the present moment. “Ores” refers to “now” and “déjà” comes from the Old French “dès ja,” where “ja” comes from the Latin jam (“from now on” or “at this moment”).
To delve deeper into the definition of d’ores et déjà, the mechanism is the same as in “au jour d’aujourd’hui”: a historical redundancy that has become invisible through usage.
The -s in “ores” is not a plural. It is a remnant of the medieval adverbial form, fixed with this final consonant. Removing this -s alters a phrase whose spelling has been established by centuries of written transmission.
Spelling of “d’ores et déjà”: common mistakes to watch for
The expression is fixed and invariable. None of its components change, regardless of the grammatical context. The most common mistakes fall into three distinct categories.
- Omission of the apostrophe: writing “dores et déjà” as a single block is incorrect. The “d'” is the elided preposition “de” before the vowel of “ores.”
- Addition of hyphens: the spelling “d’ores-et-déjà” does not exist. Unlike phrases like “peut-être” or “c’est-à-dire,” this one does not take any hyphens.
- Confusion with “d’ors”: the word “or” (precious metal) in the plural has nothing to do here. “Ores” is a time adverb, not a noun.
A simple rule to remember: the phrase never varies, in any context. It is written the same way in a contract, an email, or a novel.
Contemporary usage: an expression confined to formal registers
In everyday language, “d’ores et déjà” is rarely used in spontaneous speech. Its preferred field of expression remains institutional, legal, and journalistic communication. Public reports, press releases, and administrative texts use it regularly, whereas everyday conversation prefers “déjà,” “dès maintenant,” or “désormais.”
Several professional writing guides classify this phrase among those constructions that weigh down a sentence without adding anything more than its direct synonyms. In clear writing, replacing “d’ores et déjà” with “désormais” or “dès maintenant” shortens the sentence and makes it more readable.
In translation from English
Translators into French continue to use “d’ores et déjà” as an equivalent of the English already in a formal register. The Cambridge Dictionary cites, for example, the translation “le processus a d’ores et déjà acquis une dynamique propre” to render the process has already acquired a momentum of its own. The expression remains a marker of formal register in translation.
Synonyms and contexts for substitution
Replacing “d’ores et déjà” poses no grammatical difficulty, as all its synonyms are also adverbs or adverbial phrases of time.
- “Dès maintenant”: the most neutral replacement, suitable for all registers.
- “Désormais”: adds a nuance of lasting change, useful when the sentence describes a new situation that will persist.
- “D’ores” alone: fallen into disuse, it sometimes appears in archaizing literary texts but remains incomprehensible to most readers.
- “Déjà”: suffices in most common sentences, provided that the temporal meaning is clear from the rest of the proposition.
The choice of synonym depends on the target language register. An administrative text can retain “d’ores et déjà” without issue. A blog article or a professional email benefits from clarity with “dès maintenant.”
Using “d’ores et déjà” in a sentence: concrete examples
The phrase is placed where the adverb “déjà” would go: between the auxiliary and the past participle, or at the beginning of the proposition.
“Les inscriptions peuvent d’ores et déjà être transmises au secrétariat.” Here, the phrase separates the modal verb “peuvent” and the infinitive, just as “déjà” would.
“D’ores et déjà, le calendrier prévisionnel intègre cette modification.” Placed at the beginning of the sentence and followed by a comma, it produces an announcement effect typical of administrative style.
In contrast, a sentence like “Vous pouvez d’ores et déjà commencer à préparer vos documents dès maintenant” contains a pleonasm: “d’ores et déjà” and “dès maintenant” express the same thing. Keep one or the other, not both.
The expression retains all its legitimacy in formal written French. The only real precaution is to avoid temporal redundancy in the same sentence and to ensure that the apostrophe, the -s of “ores,” and the accent of “déjà” are correctly placed.
