Where does “worst” come from?

Worst descends from Middle English worste, Old English wierrest, Proto-Germanic wirsistaz and ubilaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂upélos and the root h₂wep-.

worst (English): superlative form of bad: most bad; superlative...

Definitions

  1. superlative form of bad: most bad; superlative...

Ancestry of “worst”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishworste—
2Old Englishwierrestsuperlative degree of yfel: worst
3Proto-Germanicwirsistazsuperlative degree of *ubilaz

Words derived from “worst”

Every word from Proto-Germanic wirsistaz →Every word from Old English wierrest →Every word from Middle English worste →