best

best · adjective, adverb, noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*batistaz
2. Old English · inherited frombezt
3. Middle English · inherited frombest
4. English todaybest

From Middle English best, beste, from Old English bezt, betest, from Proto-Germanic *batistaz. Cognates Cognate with Scots best (“best”), Cimbrian peste, péste (“best”), Dutch best (“best”), German beste (“best”), Yiddish בעסט (best, “best”), Danish bedst (“best”), Faroese bestur (“best”), Icelandic bestur, beztur (“best”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk best (“best”), Swedish bäst (“best”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (batists, “best”).

best · verb²

Shortening of had best

Best · proper noun³

1. Anglo-Norman · derived frombeste“beast”
2. German · derived fromBeste“a river in Germany”
3. English todayBest

From German Beste (“a river in Germany”) or from Anglo-Norman beste (“beast”).

Words from the same roots