-st

suffix

Verb suffix for the second-person singular; Alternative form of -est.

“the 21st century”

OriginMiddle English -st →
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Meanings

-st1

suffix
  1. archaicVerb suffix for the second-person singular; Alternative form of -est.

    Thou com'st to use thy tongue.

    c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]

-st2

suffix
  1. Marks ordinals written in digits when the final term of the spelled number is "first"

    the 21st century

-st3

suffix
  1. Excrescent suffix (adding sound but largely not changing the meaning).

    mid + -st → midst

    2 more examples

    among + -st → amongst

    while + -st → whilst

Origin

-st · suffix

  1. Middle English-st
  2. English-st

From Middle English -st; see -est.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

-st · suffix

From the written form of first; see further etymology there.

Full word history & related roots →

-st · suffix

From -s + -t of excrescent suffixes, with -s sometimes genitive.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish -e
  • -efirst
French ʳᵉ, (ère) f
  • ʳᵉfirst
  • (ère) ffirst
  • ᵉʳˢfirst
  • (ères) ffirst
German -st-
  • -st-first
Italian °, º
  • °first
  • ºfirst
  • ªfirst
  • ^ (erroneous)first
Japanese 第
  • 第 (dai)first
Polish -szy
  • -szyfirst
Swedish -a
  • -afirst
Cite this entry
APA

-st. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-st

MLA

“-st.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-st. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-st,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-st.

Source: -st on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.