Where does “best” come from?
Best comes from Middle English beste, from Old English betst, from Latin bestia meaning animal, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰedʰ-.
best (English): superlative form of good: most good; Most;...
Definitions
- superlative form of good: most good; Most;...
Ancestry of “best”, step by step
best traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English beste
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | beste | best; superlative degree of good; best;... |
| 2 | Old French | beste | beast, animal |
| 3 | Latin | bēstia | a beast |
via Middle English best
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | best | Alternative form of beste; Alternative form of... |
| 2 | Old English | bist | second-person singular present of bēon |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | biusi | second-person singular present active indicative... |
Words derived from “best”