-most en · X
Pronunciation
- /ˌməʊst/ secondary stress; primary stress is on the stem
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *-umô Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Indo-European *-tHós Proto-Indo-European *-istos Proto-Germanic *-istaz Proto-Germanic *-umistaz Old English -mest Middle English -mest ▲ Middle English [Term?]influ. Middle English -most English -most From Middle English -most(e), from earlier -mest, from Old English -(e)mest, from Proto-Germanic *-umistaz, from the comparative suffix *-umô (from Proto-Indo-European *-mHo-) + the regular superlative suffix *-istaz (whence English -est). The Middle English form is due to conflation with the originally unrelated superlative most. See foremost for more.
Meanings
-
(morpheme) Furthest; -est; used to form superlatives of certain adjectives, especially directional and inherently-comparative ones.
nether + -most → nethermost
eastern + -most → easternmost