-est
English
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-est¹
- /ɪst/ US, UK
- /əst/ Australia
Where it comes from
From Middle English -est, from Old English -est, -ost, from Proto-West Germanic *-ist, *-ōst, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz, *-ōstaz, related to comparative -er. Cognate of Afrikaans -ste, Dutch -st, German -(e)st, Danish -(e)st, Swedish -(a)st.
Via PIE cognate with Ancient Greek -ιστος (-istos), see Pleistocene, protist.
suffix
- Used to form the superlative of adjectives and adverbs. longest, biggest, fastest, motliest
-est²
- /ɪst/ US, UK
- /əst/ Australia
Where it comes from
From Middle English -est, -st, from Old English -est, -ast, -st, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *-zi, from Proto-Indo-European *-si. The -t was by transfer from inverted order where thou followed the verb, which also occurred in most dialects of Middle Dutch and Middle High German (compare modern German -st).
suffix -'st · -st
- Used to form the second-person singular present tense and past tense of verbs. (if thou is the subject; not used with you) goest, makest, wentest, madest
Translations
Talk about this word "-est." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/-est. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. -est. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/-est "-est." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/-est.Cite this
@misc{est_2026,
title = {-est},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/-est},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
