alderliefest

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

WOTD – 20 November 2023

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English alderlevest (“dearest of all”), from alder- (“of all, very”, prefix forming the superlative of adjectives or adverbs)[1] (the genitive plural of al (“all, entirely, utterly, very”)) + lefest, levest (“dearest, most beloved”) (from lef, leve (“beloved or dear to someone”)[2] (from Old English lēof (“beloved, dear”, adjective), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to admire, praise; to covet, desire; to love”)) + -est (suffix forming the superlative of adjectives and adverbs)).[3] The English word is analysable as alder- ((archaic) prefix meaning ‘having the greatest degree of something, of all’) +‎ lief (“(archaic) beloved, dear”, adjective) +‎ -est (suffix forming the superlative of adjectives and adverbs).[4]

cognates

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

alderliefest (not comparable)

  1. (archaic or obsolete) Often used as an epithet when addressing someone: most beloved.

Usage notes[edit]

  • Common in Elizabethan English (during the reign of Elizabeth I, 1558–1603), where it was already an archaism.

Alternative forms[edit]

Hypernyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

often used as an epithet when addressing someone: most beloved — see beloved

References[edit]

  1. ^ “[alder]levest” under “alder-, pref.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “lẹ̄f, adj. & adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. ^ “-est, suf.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  4. ^ Compare “alderliefest, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2023.

Anagrams[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=alderliefest&oldid=76738622"