utmost

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English ūtemest, from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”) + the superlative suffix *-umistaz, stem ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“upwards, away”). The suffix *-umistaz was a compound suffix, created from the rarer comparative suffix *-umô (as in Old English fruma) + the regular superlative suffix *-istaz (English -est); *-umô in turn is from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *-mHo-.

Later the Old English suffix complex -(u)m-est was conflated with the word most through folk etymology, so that the word is now interpreted as out +‎ -most.

Pronunciation

• • IPA^(key): /ˈʌt.məʊ̯st/
• • enPR: ŭt'mōst
  • IPA^(key): /ˈʌt.moʊ̯st/, [ˈʌt-], [ˈʌʔ-]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

utmost (not comparable)

1. Situated at the most distant limit; farthest.
   • (Can we date this quote by Evelyn and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     We coasted within two leagues of Antibes, which is the utmost town in France.

   • (Can we date this quote by Herbert and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Betwixt two thieves I spend my utmost breath.

   the utmost limits of the land;  the utmost extent of human knowledge

2. The most extreme; ultimate; greatest.
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     Where he shall answer by a lawful form, In peace to his utmost peril.

   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 236d.

     Indeed at this very moment he's slipped away with the utmost cunning into a form that's most perplexing to investigate.

   the utmost assiduity;  the utmost harmony;  the utmost misery or happiness

Derived terms

• utmostly

Related terms

• outermost
• outmost
• uttermost

Translations

Situated at the most distant limit

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極度／极度 (zh) (jídù), 极度 (zh) (jídù)

• Dutch: uiterst (nl)
• Finnish: kaukaisin, kauin, ääri-
• French: extrême (fr)
• German: äußerst (de)
• Hungarian: legtávolabbi, legvégső (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 最大の (ja) (さいだいの, saidai no), 極度な (ja) (きょくどな, kyokudo na)
• Portuguese: extremo (pt), derradeiro (pt)
• Russian: кра́йний (ru) (krájnij), преде́льный (ru) (predélʹnyj)
• Spanish: extremo (es) m
• Swedish: yttersta (sv)
• Ukrainian: кра́йній (krájnij), найвідда́леніший (najviddálenišyj)

The most extreme, ultimate

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極／极 (zh), 极 (zh) (jí), 最大 (zh) (zuìdà)

• Dutch: uiterst (nl), hoogst (nl)
• Finnish: äärimmäinen (fi), mahdollisimman (+ adverb)
• French: plus grand m, suprême (fr), extrême (fr)
• German: äußerst (de), höchst (de)
• Greek: υπέρτατος (el) (ypértatos)
• Hungarian: legnagyobb (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 最大の (ja) (さいだいの, saidai no)
• Portuguese: extremo (pt), derradeiro (pt)
• Russian: преде́льный (ru) (predélʹnyj), наивы́сший (ru) (naivýsšij), велича́йший (ru) (veličájšij), экстрема́льный (ru) (ekstremálʹnyj)
• Spanish: descollante, sobresaliente (es), extremado (es), sumo (es) m, suma (es) f
• Swedish: yttersta (sv)
• Ukrainian: грани́чний (uk) (hranýčnyj), найбі́льший (uk) (najbílʹšyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} massimo (it)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 최대 (ko) (choedae)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 最大 (zh) (zuìdà)

Noun

utmost (countable and uncountable, plural utmosts)

1. Maximum; greatest possible amount or quantity.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess‎^[1]:

     Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.

Translations

maximum

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: uiterste (nl) n
• Finnish: äärimmäisyys (fi) ("to the utmost" ~ äärimmilleen)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: maximum (fr) m, plus grand m
• Hebrew: טופ m (tóp), מקסימום m (máksimum)
• Japanese: 最大 (ja) (sasdai)
• Spanish: máximum m, máximo (es) m