mæst

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *maist, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz and *maist.

Alternative forms

• māst
• mēst — Kentish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mæːst/

Adjective

mǣst

2. superlative degree of miċel, fela, and maniġ: biggest, most
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Mǣst manna nū onhyreþ nēatum on þām þæt hīe wilniaþ weoroldlusta swā swā nīetenu.

     Most people now resemble animals in that they desire worldly pleasures like animals do.

Usage notes

• When used with a countable noun, mǣst occurs in the singular, with the noun it describes in the genitive case: Mǣst manna is medume (“Most people are average,” literally “Most of people is average”).
• When it's used to mean “the most/the largest amount,” mǣst occurs without the word “the”: Hīe flīton hwelċ cynn hæbbe mǣst gold (“They were arguing over which race has the most gold”), Hīe woldon ġesēon hwæðer hæfde mǣst bearna (“They wanted to see who would have the most children”).
• When it means “biggest,” it's used like any other adjective and neither of the above rules apply.

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: maste, most, moste
  • English: most
  • Geordie English: myest
  • Scots: maste, mast, maist

Adverb

mǣst

1. superlative degree of miċele and swīþe: most

Usage notes

• Swīðost is often used instead of mǣst adverbially: sē cniht þe hē swīðost lufode (“the boy that he most loved”). In addition, neither mǣst nor swīðost is used to form the superlative of adjectives or adverbs. Instead, the suffix -ost or -est is used: hīwcūþ (“familiar”) → hīwcūþost (“most familiar”).

Derived terms

• ealra mǣst

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *mastaz. Cognate with Middle Dutch mast (Dutch mast), Old High German mast (German Mast).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mæst/

Noun

mæst m

2. mast (of ship)

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: mast
  • English: mast
  • Scots: mast

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *mastaz, from Proto-Indo-European *mad(z)do-. Cognate with Middle Dutch mast, Old High German mast (German Mast); and related to Latin madere (“to be wet”) and Old English mete (“food”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mæst/

Noun

mæst m

2. mast (forest nuts, often used to feed pigs)

Declension

Derived terms

• mæstan (“to fatten”)

Descendants

• English: mast