least

least · adjective, determiner, adverb, noun, pronoun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*leh₂is-
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*laisistaz“smallest, least”
3. Old English · inherited fromlǣst
4. Middle English · inherited fromleste
5. English todayleast

The adjective, determiner, and noun are derived from Middle English leste, lest, last (“(adjective) smallest, least; (noun) smallest thing, etc.; person or thing least in importance; etc.”), from Old English lǣst, a contraction of læsast, læsest (“least”) (also lærest in only one source), from Proto-Germanic *laisistaz (“smallest, least”), from *laisiz (“less”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂is- or *leh₃is-; whence modern English less) + *-istaz (“suffix forming superlative forms of some adjectives”). The adverb and pronoun are derived from the adjective or determiner. cognates * Old Frisian leist * Old Saxon lēs

least · prepositional phrase²

Contraction of at least.

Words from the same roots