Etymology

worst

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Today it means: Most inferior; doing the least good. Full definition →

Middle English worste ← Old English wierrest ← Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz
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worst · adjective, adverb, noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wirsistaz
  2. Old English · inherited fromwierrest
  3. Middle English · inherited fromworste
  4. English todayworst

From Middle English worste, wurste, warste, werste, wirste, from Old English wierrest, from Proto-Germanic *wirsistaz, superlative form of *ubilaz (“bad, evil”); compare worse. Cognate with Old Saxon wirsista, wirrista (“worst”), Old High German wirst, wirsesto, wirsisto (“worst”), Danish værst (“worst”), Swedish värst (“worst”), Icelandic verstur (“worst”).

Worst · proper noun2

  1. German · borrowed fromWorst
  2. English todayWorst

Borrowed from German Worst, a variant of Wurst (“sausage”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.