above all

[ uh-buhv awl ]

idiom

1. most important of all; before everything else; chiefly:

   Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.

   He said that, above all else, he was a dad of two young children.

Word History and Origins

Origin of above all¹

First recorded in 1350–1400

Idioms and Phrases

More than anything else, as in A winter hike calls for good equipment, but above all it requires careful planning . This phrase first appears in William Langland's Piers Ploughman (1377), in which the narrator exhorts readers to love the Lord God above all. Also see first and last .