▪ I. most, a. (n.) and adv.
(məʊst)
Forms: α. 1 mǽst, (mǽsð), Merc. and Kent. mést, 3 mæst, 2–5 mest, 3 meast, 4 meste, 5 Norfolk myst. β. 1 north. mást, (maast, másð), 3–5 mast, (3 Orm. masst), 4–6 moste, moost(e, (5–6 Sc. poet. moiste), 3– most; also Sc. and north. dial. 4–7 mast(e, 4–6 mayst, 6 maiste, 4–9 maist, (9 meast).
[Com. Teut.: OE. mǽst (Northumb. mást) = OFris. mâst, maest, OS. mêst (Du. meest), OHG. (MHG., mod.G.) meist, ON. mest-r (Sw., Da. mest), Goth. maist-s:—OTeut. *maisto-, formed with superlative suffix -isto- (see -est) from the root of *maiz, mo adv., quasi-n.1 and a.
The OE. mást, the normal representative of the Com. Teut. type, has been found only in Northumbrian, but it is not certain that it existed only in that dialect. The ordinary OE. form (WS. mǽst, Kentish mést) has abnormal umlaut, and seems to descend from a prehistoric *má-ist, a re-formation due to a consciousness of the grammatical relation of the word to má mo. The umlaut form survived, in the south, down to the 15th c., but seems to have now entirely disappeared even in dialects. (The 19th c. northern form meast represents OE. mást; the coincidence with the early ME. meast:—OE. mǽst is accidental.) The establishment of most as the only form in the midlands and south was probably due to the influence of the related mo, more.
The southern form most, occasionally spelt moist, was often used, esp. in rimes, by the Sc. poets of the 15–16th c.]
A. adj. I. (The senses 1, 2, 3 express respectively the superlative of the three adjectival notions now denoted by great, much, and many.)
1. = greatest a., in various applications. † a. with reference to size, bulk, or stature. Obs.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 32 Soðlice þanne hyt wexað hyt ys alre wyrte mæst. c 1220 Bestiary 500 Cethegrande is a fis ðe moste ðat in water is. 13.. E. E. Allit. P. B. 385 Þe moste mountaynez on mor þenne was no more dryȝe. c 1450 Merlin xiv. 210 Kynge Clarion, that was the moste man of the hoste of alle the Geauntes. 1548–77 Vicary Anat. iv. (1888) 30 The braine is diuided into three partes..of which the foremost part is the moste. |
† b. with reference to amount or degree. (a) As superlative of comparison: Greatest in degree or extent, often passing into ‘utmost’, ‘chief’, occas. used predicatively. (b) As intensive superlative: Very great. Obs.
| (a) c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iv. xi. §6 Þonne þæt ᵹefeoht mæst wære. c 1200 Ormin 5328 Þe maste lufe he shæweþþ þær Þatt aniȝ mann maȝȝ shæwenn. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 191 But eueremoore hir mooste wonder was How þat it [the hors] koude go and was of bras. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xvii. v. 695 The swerd fayled hym at his moost nede. c 1586 Sanders in Hakluyt's Voy. (1599) II. i. 190, I had the Italian & Spanish tongues, by which their most trafique in that countrey is. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 78 The sence of death is most in apprehension. 1702 Echard Eccl. Hist. (1710) 609 The most imaginable fatigue and industry. |
| (b) c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 174 Þes prestis þat wole not helpe here maistris out of þis moste peril. 1479 J. Paston in P. Lett. III. 266, I wryght not so largely to yow as I wold do, for I have not most leyser. 1555 in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. xliii. 118 So likewise is freewil a most untruth undoubtedly. |
c. said of a numerical aggregate, proportion, etc. Obs. except in the phr. (the) most part.
most part (without article) may be used advb. In quot. c 1205 the adverbial accus. mesten dæl is used subst. as a nominative.
| c 1205 Lay. 7864 And heom sælliche i-lomp þæt mesten dæl com a lond. a 1225 Ancr. R. 330 Scheome is þe meste del..of ure penitence. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12839 In to þe most pres Ider þen sprong. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 394/2 The moste parte of the peple of the cyte. c 1511 [see deal n.1 1 d]. 1532 in Thanes Cawdor (Spalding Club) 155 The landis and barony of Schancar or the mast part thereof. 1579 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 429 The most noumber shall have the choice and election. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 20 Blood-sucking Inquisitors, of which the most part were mine owne Country-men. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 2, I went and took a view of most part of Hungary. |
d. for the most part (also † party, † deal): usually; in the main. † Also rarely without the.
| 1387 [see deal n.1 1 d]. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxix. 294 Thei holden for the moste partye, the..gode manneres, as men of the Contree aboue seyd. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. (1812) I. ccccxxvi. 746 Y⊇ lorde of Coucy went to Mortayn..and there refresshed hym and his company; but for the most partye he hymselfe was with the kyng at Turney. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 90 For the moste parte when there be two at once, the one is masculyne, and the other femenyne. 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iii. G g ij, For moste part these kinde of iniurious persons..are menne wel stricken in yeeres. 1647 Trapp Comm. 2 Cor. vii. 3 Such faithful friends are in this age all for the most part gone in pilgrimage. 1715 Addison Freeholder No. 20 ¶8 A House of Commons, which..must consist for the most part of Landed Men. 1871 Smiles Charac. viii. (1876) 220 Men of the greatest genius have been for the most part cheerful, contented men. |
† e. with reference to (a) power, authority; (b) importance, consequence. most master: ruler, commander; also, one who is ‘master’ in a contest, etc. Obs.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 1 Hia cueðende huelc wenes ðu maast is in ric heofna. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 816 Þe meast kempe is icud & kenest of ow alle of þe creft. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2735 Þe segges were a-slepe..al but þe mest maister. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xxii. 38 This is the firste and the most maundement. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. i. 840 He that was the moost kyng and knyght of the world. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. iii. (1633) 9 Turffe and Sea-coales is their most fuell. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. iii. 149 Shee'le.. dandle thee like a Baby: Though in this place most Master weare no Breeches. |
† f. Const. in, of. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 205 How he þat o myght es mast Send in till erth his haly gast. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 316 Þis Cesare was moost in generalte and larges, and pees of his lordship. c 1440 Sir Gowther 755 (end) Gyff us myȝt with hym to won, Þat lord, þat is most of meyn! Amen. 1533 in Furnivall Ballads fr. MSS. I. 380 Wheron to rest, And build hir nest, God graunte hir, moste of might! |
† g. Oldest. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 11567 Mauric, þe mæst of his childeren. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 900 For he [Melchisedech] was boðen king and prest, of elde most, of wit heȝest. |
h. qualifying the designation of a person: Entitled to the designation in the highest degree. Obs.
| c 1300 Havelok 323 Godard was..þe moste swike, þat eure in erþe shaped was. 13.. Sir Beues (A.) 1611 The meste wreche of alle Wiþ a strok me doþ adoun falle. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 207 b/2 Fle hens thou moste wretche. a 1553 Udall Royster D. iv. iv. (Arb.) 66 The moste loute and dastarde that euer on grounde trode. 1605 Chapman All Fooles Wks. 1873 I. 149 These politicians..are our most fooles. 1624 Middleton Game at Chess iii. ii. (end), She's caught, and, which is strange, by her most wronger. 1690 W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 439 He had been a most Mad-man had he stood against them. |
i. the most thing that, the chief thing that; what{ddd}most. Obs. exc. dial.
| a 1450 Knt. de la Tour 65 The most thinge that greuid her was her good and gay clothing. c 1460 How Wise Man taught Son 182 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 177 For deth ys, sone, as I trowe, The most thyng that certyn ys. 1474 Caxton Chesse i. iii, Ryght dere lord and kynge, the grettest and most thinge that I desire is that [etc.]. 1835 D. Webster Sc. Rhymes 4 (E.D.D.) The maist thing that troubled the bodies, I think was their hungry wames. |
j. † most end (obs.), most an end dial. [? OE. *mǽstan ende, advb. accus.]: see end n. 5 c.
2. a. With n. in pl. († occas. with the): The greatest number of; the majority of. † most times, usually, in the majority of cases.
| a 900 O. E. Chron. an. 894, & him mon eac mid oþrum floccum sohte mæstra daᵹa ælce, oþþe on dæᵹ oþþe on niht. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 150 And who þat moste maistries can, be myldest of berynge. 1473 J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 5 Whereof the most peple were sory. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 53 Vertue is harboured in the heart of him that most men esteeme mishapen. 1628 Bp. Hall Old Relig. Ded., I have passed my most and best hours in quiet meditation. 1643 Trapp Comm. Gen. xxiii. 7 Abrahams behaviour to these Hittites may shame the most Christians. 1701 Tuttell Descr. & Expl. Math. Instrum. 1 Most Questions in Arithmetick. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. lx. 427 Party loyalty is strong enough, with most people. |
† b. With n. in sing.: Numerically strongest.
| 1638 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 487 It was..agreed upon, by comon consent and most voice in oppen court. |
3. Existing in the greatest quantity, amount, or degree; the greatest amount or quantity of.
This use, like the corresponding uses of much and more, prob. arose mainly from the absolute use 5, with virtual ellipsis of of. When used with abstract ns. this sense is hard to distinguish from the obsolete sense ‘greatest’ (1 b).
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 406 Bot moste harm in þis mater stondes in þis; þat þei perverte þo feythe of þo gospel. c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 16 Of all angels in brightnes God gaf lucifer most lightnes. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 16 Our trewe men doo vs to vnderstonde that moost prayeng and leste profyt myght falle to the same cite and to me. 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. I. iv. 20 At those tumultuous Assemblies..such had most Authority as could make most Noise. 1727 Swift Gulliver's Let. to Sympson Wks. 1751 IX. 143 Have not I the most Reason to complain? 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. IV. v. xvi. §42 The work will..have most power which was begun with most patience. |
II. absol. (quasi-n.)
4. a. Absolute uses of sense 1. The greatest persons (or, rarely, things); chiefly, with reference to rank or importance. Usually in association with least. Now only poet. in most and least = ‘all without exception’ (in ME. verse often as a metrical tag).
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 198 And for his sinne oc he to munen, ðat moste and leiste him ben binumen. a 1300 Cursor M. 1659 Fra þe mast dun to þe lest Sal neþer liue ne fouul ne best. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 75 We wol..Chese yow a wyf..Born of the gentilleste and of the meeste Of al this land. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 59 b/1, Moyses..gadred all the most of byrthe. 1526 Tindale Heb. viii. 11 They shall a knowe me, from the lest to the moste off them. 1600 Fairfax Tasso viii. lxxii, Enuenoming the hearts of most and least. 1879 Browning Pheidippides 78 Then praise Pan who fought in the ranks with you most and least. |
b. slang. The best, (something that is) extremely good, most exciting; also as quasi-adv.
| 1953 Time 17 Aug. 3/1 It's the most! 1954 Time 1 Feb. 14/1 Last week the general and even the Pentagon conceded that the bop campaign was the most, to say the least. 1958 Sunday News (N.Y.) 11 May 2 Of her husband, she said, ‘Adam and I dig each other the most. We have a perfect understanding. It couldn't be better.’ 1958 News Chron. 22 May 4/5 When a man is found to be attractive—he's the most. 1959 Punch 16 Sept. 167/2 It has in fact been voted ‘The Sleeve With the Most’..by the editors of the Beat Disc Review and Pop Chronicle. 1960 Guardian 17 Mar. 4/1 American women get the most! 1968 Listener 7 Mar. 314/3, I would infinitely prefer to listen to the Kenny Everett programme—‘the show that's the most with your tea and toast’, as that masterly dj himself puts it. 1969 H. Waugh Young Prey (1970) 6 ‘So—you like the ride ?’.. ‘No kidding, it was the most!’ |
5. a. The greatest amount or quantity.
| c 1122 O. E. Chron. an. 1011, Þonne hi mæst to yfele ᵹedon hæfdon. a 1200 Moral Ode 112 Þe ðe lest wat biseið ofte mest. c 1200 Ormin 15278 Þiss follc iss laᵹhesst, & tiss lott Addleþþ þe læste mede, Forr þatt teᵹᵹ hafenn allre masst Off þeᵹᵹre flæshess wille. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 318/671 Ho-so hath of þe eorþe mest, he is slouȝ as þe Asse. 1419 in Thanes Cawdor (Spalding Club) 6 To sel thaim to hym or to ony uthir that wil gif mast for thaim. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lviii. 29 Quha maist hes than sall maist repent. 1648 Gage West Ind. 162 Four hundred Crowns had been the most that my old Predecessor had given yearly. a 1908 Mod. This is really the most that I can concede. |
† b. Const. gen. Only OE. and early ME.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxiv. §3 Forðæm þæt he þurh ðæt mæᵹe mæst bearna beᵹitan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 169 Mest manne him gremede mid scorne a 1225 St. Marher. 6 Ant tu schalt wummon meast wunne ant weole welden. |
† c. all (one's) most: (one's) utmost. Obs. In quot. used advb.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 818 Quhen all thair mast assalȝeit thai, And the schot thikkest [wes] with-all [etc.]. |
d. to make the most of († to make most of): (a) To employ to the best advantage; (b) To treat with the greatest consideration; (c) To represent or exhibit at the best or worst.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 13 He maketh moost of vs & cheryssheth vs. 1588 Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 22 Thackwell is..permitted to make the most he could of his presse and letters. a 1627 Hayward Edw. VI (1630) 73 The most [was] made of that which was true, and many falsities added. 1660 Fuller Mixt Contempl. (1841) 237, I always made the most of the youngest. 1727 Gay Begg. Op. i. iv, How to make the most of her beauty. 1859 FitzGerald tr. Omar xxiii, Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend. 1891 Temple Bar June 167 He..made the most of his opportunity. |
e. the most of: the greatest part of, the majority of.
| 1790 in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 170/2. 1843 T. Wilson Pitman's Pay 27 The myest of which was left below. 1862 M. D. Colt Went to Kansas 192, I..have taken leave of the most of my friends. 1879 Stevenson Travels with Donkey iii. 96 Without doubt, the most of mankind grossly overeat themselves. 1931 H. Belloc Hist. Eng. IV. i. 127 Much of the most of English wealth in 1536 came from tillage. 1963 C. D. Simak They walked like Men ix. 49 ‘You say all my neighbors have lost their leases or sold out?’ ‘The most of them.’ |
6. Governed by a prep. forming an advb. phrase. a. at most, at the most (ME. atte meste). A qualifying phrase, attached to a quantitative designation to indicate that the amount, number, or quantity is the largest admissible. Also in wider sense, appended to a statement to denote that it expresses not less, but probably more, than the truth.
| c 1300 St. Brandan (Percy Soc.) 31 Ther thu schalt fourti dayes bileve atte meste. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 947 He spak y-now for o day at þe meste. 1453 in Trevelyan Papers (Camden) 25 If the chaplen dy, elec another honest man..within foure monethis at the most. 1535 Coverdale Isa. xxx. 17 A thousand of you shal fle for one, or at the most for fyue. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 196 One degree of Longitude under the thirty seventh degree of Latitude,..consists but of fifty minutes at the most. 1756 F. Brooke Old Maid No. 30. 177 After these entered a tall child, at most but in her thirteenth year. 1885 Law Times LXXIX. 38/1 The duty of the magistrate should be at most ancillary to that of the doctor. |
† b. for the most. For the most part. Obs.
| c 1531 Latimer in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1822) I. ii. 177 Those other, for the most, teach nothing, but that whych ys manifest in the Scripture. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 445 They say best men are moulded out of faults, And for the most, become much more the better For being a little bad. |
† c. with the most. In the utmost degree; in the greatest quantity; to the full. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 2547 Ah Menbriz dude vnwreste he wes swike mid þan meste. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 274 Now is Gij in gret tempest Sorwe he makeþ wiþ þe mest [MS. C. Sorowe he maketh with the moste] Of Felice þat feir may. a 1440 Sir Degrev. 1404 Ther ware metus with the maste, I do ȝow to wytte. a 1586 Sir H. Sidney Godly Let. to his son Philip, Feed them well, and pay them with the most. 1628 Gaule Pract. Theorists Panegyr. 10 Our gratefull acknowledgement of his Goodnesse, when it is with the most; is but a slender requitall for his Benefits. |
7. (Construed as pl.) The greatest number. Now usually without article; in early use most and the most were both common. a. The most numerous part of an aggregate specified or implied; the majority. Const. of.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur ii. i. 77 Moost of all the barons..assayed alle by rewe but ther myght none spede. 1535 Coverdale Matt. xi. 20 The cities, in the which most of his miracles were done. 1588 J. Udall Diotrephes (Arb.) 12 The most of them woulde neuer deale in that lawe at home. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 594 For she seemes a Mistresse To most that teach. 1635 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 173 Moste of the Fleete came lagging on by ones and two's. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 32 Most of these Divans have large Windows. 1767 Jrnl. Byron's Voy. round World 10 The most of the priests are negroes. 1796 Burke Let. Noble Ld. Wks. viii. 63, I looked over a number of fine portraits, most of them of persons now dead. 1852 G. W. Curtis Wand. in Syria 161 We found a spot less dreary than the most. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 9, I found a number of persons, most of whom I knew. 1882 Stevenson New Arab. Nts. (1884) 30 The most of my patrons are boys. |
b. = most persons: the majority of people.
| 1608 Willet Hexapla Exod. 38 The most here doe vnderstand this signe. 1670 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 21 Upon the Queene's Birthday most wore embraudered bodys. 1791 Gentl. Mag. 22/2 A gentleman..who felt the infirmities of age at an earlier period than most do. 1833 H. Martineau Charmed Sea i, Her indifference was towards..most who crossed her daily path. 1852 M. Arnold Youth of Nature 71 Sunk..Too deep for the most to discern. |
B. adv.
1. As a superlative of comparison: In the greatest degree; to the greatest extent. a. qualifying a verb, a ppl. adj., or an adjectival or advb. phrase.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. iv. §1 Þara nytena meolc þe hy mæst bi libbað. a 1200 Moral Ode 217 Þe þe deþ is wille mest, he haueð wurst mede. c 1200 Ormin 2595, & ȝho þatt cwemmde himm allre mæst Off all mannkinn onn eorþe. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 238 Most of alle his herte is set..upon these grete Offices. a 1450 Myrc Festial 24 For þat a man loueth most yn þys world, þat ys callet his god and his mawmet. 1537 Wriothesley Chron. (Camden) I. 104 The Bishopp of Rochester..had occupied preachinge most at Pawles Crosse of any bishopp. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 107 b, He..thought it most for his honor & profite. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia 3 The soyle is most plentifull, sweete,..and fruitfull of all other. 1723 Dk. Wharton True Briton No. 26. I. 228 Their most obliged Creatures have shunn'd them most. 1790 Burns To Gentl. who sent a Newspaper 3 How guess'd ye, sir, what maist I wanted? 1853 M. Arnold Scholar-Gipsy viii, For most, I know, thou lov'st retired ground! |
b. Prefixed to an adj. or adv. to form the superl.
For the conditions under which the comparison with more and most is used, see more adv. 1 b, c.
| c 1230 Hali Meid. (MS. Bodl.) I. 585 For þah he beo richest,..þ e alre measte poure þe him to were cheoseð, is him wel icweme. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 52 The moste principal of alle. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 56 This Weye is most schort. 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 227 Ebbing men, indeed (Most often) do so neere the bottome run By their owne feare, or sloth. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 283 Hee had some warres..against the Christians, more vnnaturall against his brother, but most most vnnaturall and monstrous against his sonne Selym. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 146 The most sweete walke that ever I beheld. 1725 T. Thomas in Portland Papers VI. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) 122 One of the Kirks most Commodious for its largeness. 1818 Coleridge Lett. (1895) 698 These lectures will be found by far the most interesting..of any that I have yet delivered. 1892 Bookman Oct. 27/2 The most dogged of fighters, the most dangerous of enemies. |
c. prefixed pleonastically to the superl. of the adj. or adv. Now only poet. exc. in illiterate use.
| c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxvii. 279 The most fairest Damyselles that myghte be. 1535 [see highest B. 1]. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 40 The three battels..by him in his most yongest yeares so miraculously foughten. 1683 Penn Let. conc. Pennsylvania 6 One of the most wretchedst Spectacles in the World. 1878 T. Hardy Ret. Native iv. vii, I was always first in the most gallantest scrapes in my younger days! 1881 E. H. Hickey in Macm. Mag. XLIII. 236 My most extremest time of misery. |
2. As an intensive superlative qualifying adjs. and advs.: In the greatest possible degree.
For the ceremonial titles, Most Christian, Most Honourable, Most Noble, Most Reverend, etc., see those adjs.
| 1508 Dunbar Poems vii. 3 Most wyse, most valyeand, most laureat hie wictour. 1536 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 42 §1 The Kynges mooste Riall Magestie. 1559 Abp. Parker Corr. (Parker Soc.) 70, I ought and do, acknowledge my most bound duty, to be a faithful orator for your grace during my life. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. v. 80 Oh horrible, Oh horrible, most horrible. 1631 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. III. 205 To the King's most excellent Majesty. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 183 The rinde or skin peeles off most easily. 1688 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. III. 316, I am, S{supr}, your most affectionate friend and servant, Sunderland P. 1710 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) II. 351 A most vile, stinking Whigg. 1775 Johnson Let. to Earl Chesterfield in Boswell, I am..your lordship's most humble, most obedient servant. 1853 Dickens Let. 21 Sept., Ever..Most affectionately yours. 1879 Bain Higher Engl. Gram. 150 His argument was most convincing. |
† 3. a. Mostly; for the most part. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2118 Þis land lies mast vnto þe south þer þe blamen mast er cuth. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. (E.E.T.S.) 1/27 We rede of hym þat whan he cam to lerne dyuers sciens which were þan most in Greke tonge þat he hated þe Greke letteris and loued weel þe Latyn. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §21 They vse most to pul them [i.e. certain weeds] vppe with theyr handes. 1530 Palsgr. 598/1 Where kepeth he his resydence moste? 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. ii. §9 Although ..States are most collected into Monarchies. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. i. ii. (1636) 72 Those that now inhabite Egypt, are most Moores. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle (1768) 107 As to the Nature of the Inhabitants, they are most of a tawny Complexion. a 1734 North Lives (1826) III. 388 He took most to silence,..yet, when he did speak, it was much to the purpose. |
b. Qualifying all. (In this use the sense ‘for the most part’ passes into that of ‘nearly’: see almost.) Similarly everich mest, nearly every one. Obs.
| a 1000–1130 [see almost 1]. a 1200 Moral Ode 7 Mest al þet ich habbe idon bi-fealt to child-hade. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 181 Mast alle þe hund limen hersumieð þe onre wombe. a 1225 Ancr. R. 88 Euerich mest, haueð on olde cwene to ueden hire earen. c 1230 Hali Meid. 103 As gentille wimmen mest alle nu o worlde. 1627 Sclater Exp. 2 Thess. iii. 12 (1629) 275 Wee are most all of Issachars Tribe: therefore vsually choose callings of greatest ease. |
4. a. Almost, nearly. Now dial. and U.S.
It is doubtful whether this is not merely an aphetic form of almost (Sc. amaist); it is often written 'maist, 'most.
| a 1584 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 243 Sum tyme I musit and maist gane mad. 1613–39 I. Jones in Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) II. 49 This Architrave returns the Cornice most to the solid of the Pilasters. 1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 541 Her forehead was most couered with her Hat. 1775 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1877) XIII. 198 It is so long since I saw, or heard direct from you that I most forgit you. 1785 Burns Addr. Deil xvi, Ye..gied the infant warld a shog, 'Maist ruin'd a'. 1800 Farmers' Register (Greensburgh, Pa.) 8 Nov. (Th.), And though he squeez'd me most to death, I could not help it, no, not I. 1803 Port Folio (Philad.) III. 97 (Th.), You know how it most makes you blind, in winter, to look on the snow. 1808 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. V. 344 The distance of most three leagues. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 107 Most off the handle, some o' the tribe I guess. 1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl Shooting 151 You..wade out, most to the edge of the open water. 1883 ‘Mark Twain’ Life Miss. iii. 26 Then they both got at it.., swelling round and round each other, and punching their fists most into each other's faces. 1901 Merwin & Webster Calumet ‘K’ i. 6, I 'most met my death climbing up just now. a 1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. iv. 87 The street girls..they 'most starve. 1935 in Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men (1970) i. i. 26 He moved by jerks, and he had most no tail. |
b. With all, any, every, etc.
| 1770 Washington Diary 25 Aug. (1925) I. 395 As the Tassels of most all the Corn..was entirely dry. 1775 J. Andrews Let. 11 Apr. in Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc. (1866) VIII. 403, I think it exceeds most every thing of the kind. 1834 C. A. Davis Lett. J. Downing 35 Most all these southern folks are good fellows. 1854 J. E. Cooke Virginia Comedians I. viii. 50 ‘Never argues with women!’ adds Kate, ‘as if he was not arguing with me all the time 'most!’ 1855 Thackeray Newcomes xxv, Most everybody's here. 1865 ‘Mark Twain’ Celebr. Jumping Frog (1867) 10 He was lucky,..he most always come out winner. 1894 [see hellgramite]. 1897 Kipling Capt. Cour. i. 5 She's 'most always sick on the ocean. 1904 Sun (N.Y.) 16 Aug. 5 Most everybody in the Twelfth Ward was there. 1926 Publishers' Weekly 10 July 117 Most any bookbinder will be glad to tell you all about du Pont Fabrikoid. 1956 Rev. Sci. Instrum. XXVII. 961/2 If K > 1, which is most always the case, then [etc.]. 1964 W. B. Huie Hiroshima Pilot ii. 15 By 1923 most every surviving Confederate veteran had ‘been with Pickett’. 1968 Wall Street Jrnl. 28 Feb. 16/1 In most any organization, the man who succeeds a reformer faces the task of consolidating the reforms while smoothing feathers the reformer has ruffled. 1968 Amer. N. & Q. Mar. 108/1 A book which touches most all of the high spots for the jet set. |
† C. Comb.: mostwhat adv., for the most part (common in 17th c.); also quasi-adj., the greater part of; mostwhen adv., most frequently, on most occasions; mostwhere adv., in most places.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 137 Þesne lehter habbeð mest hwat alle men. a 1300 Cursor M. 14571 Þe freindes þou has aurquar, We wat mast quat er þai þar. a 1400 in Halliwell Rara Math. (1841) 56 A Tretis of Geometrie wherby you may knowe the heghte, depnes, and the brede of mostwhat erthely thynges. 1494 Fabyan Chron. v. cxxxvii. 123 The kynge kepte mooste what his paleys. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 164 Here and there sum: But most when and most where no sum doth cum. 1581 Mulcaster Positions i. (1887) 3 The parentes and freindes with whom I haue to deale, be most-what no latinistes. 1602 Carew Cornwall 13 b, The Lord of the soyle is most-where allowed libertie to place one workman in euerie fifteene for himself. 1681 H. More Exp. Dan. i. 5 That State..being most-what supported by the Supreme Power of their Two Consuls. 1737 in N. & Q. 8th Ser. (1895) VII. 405/1 This Month was mostwhat inclin'd to wet and very changable wether. |
Hence † ˈmasthede [-head], supreme greatness, majesty; † ˈmostness, maximal size.
| a 1300 E. E. Psalter xxviii. 3 God of masthede þonnered he. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 99 From the leastness and mostness, not from the things themselves, it is, that [etc.]. |
▪ II. most
obs. form of must n. and v.