-est

• (UK, US) enPR: ĭst, IPA^(key): /ɪst/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

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

From Middle English -est, from Old English -st, -est, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz, *-ōstaz, related to comparative -er. Cognate of Afrikaans -ste, Dutch -st, German -(e)st, Danish -(e)st, Swedish -(a)st.

-est

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

   longest, biggest, fastest

• 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

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

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

• -ist

-est

1. Used to form the second-person singular present indicative of verbs.

• -ost, -ust

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

• IPA^(key): /est/

-est

1. suffix forming feminine nouns, originally from verbs

   eornost ― earnest

   þēnest ― service

   ofost ― haste

   orrest ― battle, combat

• -aist

• • IPA^(key): /ɛsd/, [ɛst]

-est

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