Where does “calmest” come from?
Calmest comes from Old English -st, Middle English -est, and Proto-Germanic -istaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -istHos and -tós, forming the superlative suffix of the adjective calm.
calmest (English): superlative form of calm: most calm;...
Definitions
- superlative form of calm: most calm;...
Ancestry of “calmest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | calm | Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and... |
| 2 | Middle English | calm | — |
| 3 | Middle French | calme | calm; still; windless |
| 4 | Italian | calma | calm, stillness, peacefulness; tranquility, peace... |
| 5 | Latin | cauma | heat; heat of the day |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | καῦμα | burning, glow, heat; fever; holes cut by cautery |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | καίω | I light, kindle, set on fire; I burn, burn up; I... |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | *káyyō | — |