-est

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: ĭst, IPA^(key): /ɪst/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General Australian) enPR: əst, IPA^(key): /əst/

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.

-est

1. Used to form the superlative of adjectives and adverbs.

   longest, biggest, fastest, motliest

• See -er for notes on the usage of this suffix to form superlatives.
• Occasionally, the -est suffix is added to a verbal adjective as a substitute for most. An example is winningest.

• -er

• -most

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).

-est

1. (archaic, dialectal) 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

• -'st, -st

• -eth
• thou

• tes, Tse, StE, set, TSE, Set, seṭ, ETS, STE, tse, ETs, TEs, Ste, Ste., SET

From Latin -istī.

-est

1. Used to form the second person plural preterite indicative of second conjugation verbs

• This form fell out of use, being largely replaced by the analogical ending -eres.

From -es (adjective-forming suffix) +‎ -t (adverb-forming suffix).

• IPA^(key): [ɛʃt]

-est

1. (adverb-forming suffix) Added to a word to form an adverb.

   ‎öröm (“joy”) + ‎-est → ‎örömest (“with joy”)

• (adverb-forming suffix) Variants:

  -st

  -est

In the present, inherited from Old English -ast (class 2 weak second-person singular),^[1] from Proto-West Germanic *-ōs with paragogic -t added from when þū follows (compare Northern Middle English -es), from Proto-Germanic *-ōsi, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yési.

In the past, inherited from Old English -est, from Proto-West Germanic *-ēs (with paragogic -t added as above), from Proto-Germanic *-ēz (with -s by analogy with present forms), from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₁si (in *dʰédʰeh₁si, form of *dʰédʰeh₁ti); this suffix is initially limited to weak verbs, but is extended to strong verbs over the course of the Middle English period (although not yet in Chaucer).^[2]

• -ist, -yst
• -st (especially Late Middle English); -ost, -ust (Southwestern, West Midland)

• IPA^(key): /-əst/

-est (East Midland, Kent, Southern, West Midland)

1. Used to form the second-person singular present indicative of verbs (other than preterite-presents).
2. Used to form the second-person singular past indicative of weak verbs; see -edest
3. (especially Late Middle English) Used to form the second-person singular past indicative of strong verbs

• After the Early Middle English period, this suffix almost entirely supplants earlier -st in strong and class 1 weak verbs in the Central and Southeast Midlands and increasingly becomes an alternative option to that suffix elsewhere. However, a countervailing tendency to syncopate the vowel of this suffix operates, especially in Later Middle English and after vowel-final verb stems; both syncopated and unsyncopated forms coexisted in the Early Modern standard.^[3]
• In Northern Middle English -es is found instead of this suffix in the present tense; both forms may be found in North Midland Middle English and to a limited degree, further south (especially in Early Middle English, reflecting Anglian Old English -as).^[4] Contrarily, the second-person singular past indicative of weak verbs usually takes the basic past suffix -ed, -t without further suffixation in Northern Middle English (i.e. Midland þou lovedest, but Northern þou lufed) throughout the period.
• When this suffix is followed by þou, it may function as a clitic attached to the word bearing this suffix; see -estou, -este.

• English: -est, -st (archaic)
• → Middle Scots: -est, -ist (literary, under Chaucerian influence)

Inherited from Old English -est, -ost, from Proto-West Germanic *-ist, *-ōst, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz, *-ōstaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-istHos. Northern Middle English -ast is potentially influenced by Old Norse -astr.

• -ist, -yst
• -ast (especially Northern)

• IPA^(key): /-əst/

-est (plural and weak singular -este)

2. Used to form the superlative degree of adjectives; more, -er.
4. Used to form the superlative degree of adverbs; more, -er.

• Unlike in the modern English standard, this suffix may be appended to adjectives or adverbs of any length; in fact, periphrastic comparison with more or mest, most is rather uncommon. Like in Early Modern English and nonstandard modern English, this periphrastic comparative may be combined with the synthetic comparative to form a pleonastic "double comparative"; most grettest (“largest”, literally “most largest”).
• Irregular comparatives formed with this suffix may induce umlaut or shortening of the vowel of the root it is appended to; most of these compete with regular forms, which increasingly predominate in later Middle English (e.g. lengest, longest, both "longer"; deppest, depest, both "deeper").
• The vowel of this suffix is occasionally syncopated, both continuing Old English -st and as a new development in Middle English; this has resulted in assimilation of the final consonant of the root in grest, alternative form of grettest (“greatest, largest”).

• English: -est
• Middle Scots: -ast, -est
  • Scots: -est

• “-est, suf.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• Mossé, Fernand (1952), “IX. Elements of the Sentence”, in James A. Walker, transl., A Handbook of Middle English‎^[3], I. Grammar: Part Three. The Sentence, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, translation of Manuel du l'Anglais de Moyen Age des Origines au XIVe Siècle (in French), →OCLC, § 115, page 92.
• d'Ardenne, S[imonne] R. T. O. (1961) [1936], “Orthographical Notes”, in Þe Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Iuliene (Early English Text Society; 248), London: Oxford University Press for the Early English Text Society, →OCLC, § 84, page 220.
• Logan, H[arry] M. (1973), “V. Grammar”, in The dialect of the Life of Saint Katherine: A linguistic study of the phonology and inflections (Janua Linguarum. Series Practica; 130), The Hague: Mouton, →OCLC, page 183.
• Mustanoja, Tauno F. (1960), “Adjectives: Comparison”, in A Middle English Syntax (Mémoires de la Société Néophilologique de Helsinki; 23), volume I: Parts of Speech, Helsinki: Société Néophilologique, page 279; republished at Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2016, →DOI, →ISBN.

• IPA^(key): /est/

From Proto-Germanic *-ustaz, *-istaz.

• -ost, -ust

-est

1. suffix forming feminine nouns, originally from verbs

   eornost ― earnest

   þēnest ― service

   ofost ― haste

   orrest ― battle, combat

Strong ō-stem:

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *-ist, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-istHos, from *-yōs + *-tHós.

-est

1. alternative form of -ost (“used to form superlative adjectives and adverbs”)

   ‎glēaw (“wise”) + ‎-est → ‎glēawest (“wisest”)

   ‎late (“late”) + ‎-est → ‎latest (“latest”)

   ‎smæl (“narrow; small”) + ‎-est → ‎smælest (“narrowest; smallest”)

• Middle English: -est, -ist, -yst, -ast (especially Northern)
  • English: -est
  • Middle Scots: -ast, -est
    • Scots: -est

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *-ēs with paragogic -t added from when þū follows (compare Anglian Old English -es), from Proto-Germanic *-ēz (with -s by analogy with present forms), from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₁si (in *dʰédʰeh₁si, form of *dʰédʰeh₁ti).

• -es — Anglian

-est

1. Forms the second-person singular of class I weak verbs

   ‎fremman (“to perform”) + ‎-est → ‎fremest (“you perform”)

• Middle English: -est, -ist, -yst, -st (especially Late Middle English), -ost, -ust (Southwestern, West Midland)
  • English: -est, -st (archaic)
  • → Middle Scots: -est, -ist (literary, under Chaucerian influence)

• -aist

• • IPA^(key): /ɛsd/, [ɛst]

-est

1. (colloquial) verb suffix for the second-person singular preterite