Where does “-moste” come from?

-moste (Middle English) comes from Old English -mest, from Proto-Germanic *-umistaz.

Ancestry of “-moste”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old English-mestmost; used to form the superlative of certain words, such as cardinal directions
2Proto-Germanic*-umistaz
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-umistazEvery word from Old English -mest