mæst

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Old English

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Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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mǣst

  1. superlative degree of miċel, fela, and maniġ: biggest, most
Usage notes
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  • 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 is 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 is used like any other adjective and neither of the above rules apply.
Declension
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Descendants
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  • Middle English: maste, most, moste

Adverb

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mǣst

  1. superlative degree of miċele and swīþe: most
Usage notes
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  • 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
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Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mæst m

  1. mast (of ship)
Declension
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Descendants
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Etymology 3

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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 madeō (to be wet) and Old English mete (food).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mæst m

  1. mast (forest nuts, often used to feed pigs)
Declension
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Derived terms
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Descendants
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