Talk:most

Determiner usexes

I can't quite tell what the difference is supposed to be. Any help? Equinox ◑ 23:24, 8 October 2016 (UTC)

To anyone who thinks they can help with this, please note that there was some discussion about this issue in the Tea room in January 2016 — which includes links to other, earlier discussions. (Apart from that, I can offer no assistance on the matter.) - dcljr (talk) 01:29, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

'most definitely', 'most emphatically', 'most probably'

In those 'lexicalized phrases', 'most' seems to mean 'very', a meaning which is not usually used before another adverb, so I'd improve the entry to add a reference to this. Thanks in advance. --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:39, 29 January 2017 (UTC)

The (English) Adverb section says, "To a great extent or degree; highly; very" with the quotation "This is a most unusual specimen.‎" Do you think it would be sufficient to simply add a second example sentence using one of the phrases you cite? Or does its use before an adverb make this usage something different? (An intensifier??) - dcljr (talk) 00:10, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

RFV discussion: April 2019

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most

Rfv-sense: "A record-setting amount.", distinct from "the greatest amount" etc.

I haven't yet found this definition in other OneLook dictionaries. DCDuring (talk) 02:08, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

cited Kiwima (talk) 01:20, 3 April 2019 (UTC)

RFV-passed Kiwima (talk) 22:17, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

He most enjoyed the singing

The entry of gerund offers the example He most enjoyed the singing. What adverbial meaning is used here? I'd add this sentence as an example because all the ones used are predicatives after the verb to be. --Backinstadiums (talk) 20:26, 16 December 2019 (UTC)

It means he liked the singing more than anything else. He preferred it over the dancing, etc. Equinox ◑ 09:34, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

at one's most + adjective

Are phrases such as at one's most vulnerable idiomatic enough to be added? We do have at one's best --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:49, 12 February 2020 (UTC)

I would have thought that at could cover this. Equinox ◑ 20:25, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, the practically unlimited number of such phrases suggests they are not idiomatic. - -sche (discuss) 06:46, 5 August 2020 (UTC)

Adverb : almost

In American English it occurs as an adverb "almost" before such pronouns as all, anyone, anybody, everyone, and everybody; the adjectives all, any, and every; and adverbs like anywhere and everywhere.
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/most

--Backinstadiums (talk) 13:18, 17 February 2020 (UTC)

"the most", meaning the best

the most: the very best of something:
she thought her boyfriend was the most.
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/most

--Backinstadiums (talk) 10:25, 2 April 2020 (UTC)

Missing sense: sth good: "Gran's the most, isn't she?": Heard in an old Johnny Dollar radio serial from 1956 (The Matter of Reasonable Doubt). It seems to mean that she is a good or wonderful person. I've heard "the most" used in a similar sense for anything great in other episodes too. Equinox ◑ 17:52, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

@Equinox: right over this post is mine --Backinstadiums (talk) 15:30, 31 July 2020 (UTC)

Yep, I have merged the sections! Equinox ◑ 20:25, 4 August 2020 (UTC)

for the most part

What meaning is used in for the most part? --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:53, 3 October 2020 (UTC)

It means biggest or greatest (opposite: least). Perhaps should be an adjective here. Equinox ◑ 17:00, 3 October 2020 (UTC)

@Equinox: Relevant OED entry https://oed.com/oed2/00152013 --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:29, 6 November 2020 (UTC)

@Backinstadiums: Listen, if you know what you want to add to an entry, then just add it. If you are asking about meanings in good faith then fine. But I don't think you are. Equinox ◑ 09:40, 7 November 2020 (UTC)

most little

least reads: superlative form of little: most little. Is such wording grammatically O.K.? If so, appropriate for an entry? --Backinstadiums (talk) 18:18, 5 November 2020 (UTC)

RFD discussion: October 2022–May 2024

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most

One of the senses given for most § Adverb is:

3. superlative of many

As many is not an adverb, I do not believe it has an adverbial superlative.  --Lambiam 08:35, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

Isn't the usage example already covered by determiner sense 3? I don't really get the difference, if there is any. I guess that "Most times when I go hiking" is an adverbial phrase, but the word "most" itself is not being used as an adverb. 98.170.164.88 06:13, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

Indeed, its syntactical function in the usage example is that of a determiner, the same as that of many in “many times when I’m lazy”, or most in “Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.” The difference is that one (determiner) is correct while the other (adverb) is incorrect.  --Lambiam 10:10, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

Would it change anything if the sentence were worded

Most times I go hiking, I wear boots.?

I was the one who added the usex, but i realize now that my sentence doesn't illustrate adverbial use. Still, I think this is possible to interpret as an adverb if we simply omit the word when, since it will then make times function like sometimes, which is an adverb. Since only an adverb can modify an adverb, I'd say that the questioned sense does exist. —Soap— 16:56, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

Here the word most modifies times, which is the plural of the noun time, sense 3.4. Adverbs do not modify nouns. The grammatical function of most times in the adverbial clause most times when is not affected by the omission of the relative adverb when.  --Lambiam  --Lambiam 19:10, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm gonna say delete. 98.170.164.88 23:58, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

Are we sure that times isn't a relic genitive of time? (connected to betimes, sometimes, ofttimes, possibly others) DCDuring (talk) 17:06, 10 April 2023 (UTC)

• Query: Do our definitions cover usages like: "They were the ones who won (the) most." (ie, say, "most frequently") DCDuring (talk) 17:44, 10 April 2023 (UTC)
• Delete, not an adverb, the phrase tree is misunderstood here. It is the determiner seens plus times together forming an adverbial. Fay Freak (talk) 11:45, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

• My input is that I also agree that this is not an adverb. I think that this most-longest-standingest RFD item can be deleted now by consensus. Mihia (talk) 17:39, 4 May 2024 (UTC)

Deleted. bd2412 T 17:55, 11 May 2024 (UTC)