superlativeadj.n.

Brit.

/suːˈpəːlətɪv/,

/sjuːˈpəːlətɪv/,

/sᵿˈpəːlətɪv/,

/sjᵿˈpəːlətɪv/, U.S.

/səˈpərlədɪv/

Forms: Middle English superlatyf, Middle English superlatyfe, Middle English superlatyff, Middle English superlatyue, Middle English 1600s superlatif, Middle English– superlative, 1500s sewperlatyve, 1500s superlatyve, 1500s–1600s superlatiue, 1600s suparlative.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French superlatif; Latin superlātīvum; Latin superlātīvus.

Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French superlatif (French superlatif ) (adjective) (of God) that is above all (c1170 in Old French as supellatif ), that is excellent, extraordinary, or a supreme example of its kind (13th cent.), (in grammar) having a form expressing the highest degree of comparison, of, relating to, or designating such a form or degree (beginning of the 14th cent.), excessive, exaggerated (1566), (noun) (in grammar) highest degree of comparison (2nd half of the 13th cent.), form of an adjective or adverb expressing the highest degree of comparison (1550; also in corresponding adjectival use), and (ii) its etymons classical Latin superlātīvum (neuter noun) (in grammar) highest degree of comparison, and superlātīvus (masculine noun) form of an adjective or adverb expressing the highest degree of comparison (attested in an 8th-cent. epitome of a 2nd-cent. grammarian), in post-classical Latin also superlativus (adjective) (of an adjective or adverb) having a form expressing the highest degree of comparison, of, relating to, or designating such a form or degree (4th cent.), exaggerated, hyperbolical (a636 in Isidore), excellent, remarkable (second half of the 12th cent.) < superlātus (used as past participle of superferre ; < super- super- prefix + lāt- (for *tlāt- ), past participial stem of tollere to take away: see tollent adj.) + -īvum and -īvus respectively (see -ive suffix). Compare Catalan superlatiu (1490), Spanish superlativo (15th cent.), Portuguese superlativo (15th cent.), Italian superlativo (14th cent.).Compare the following early use of the Latin word (in senses A. 1a and B. 1a) in an English context:OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 15 Sume [naman] synd svperlativa, þæt synd oferstigendlice, þa geswuteliað ða mæstan and ða betstan: maximus se mæsta, optimus se selosta.OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 16 svperlativvs is se ðridda stæpe: iustissimus ealra rihtwisost.OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 240 On ðissere geendunge gað ealle comparativa: ocius hrædlicor, ac heora svperlativa geendiað on e: ocissime hrædlicost.

A. adj.

a. Grammar. Of an adjective or adverb: having a form expressing the highest or a very high degree of a quality or attribute; of, relating to, or designating such a form or degree. Also figurative. Cf. positive adj. 12, comparative adj. 2.In English the superlative degree of an adjective or adverb can be expressed with inflection, as with the suffix -est (e.g. truest, sweetest, oftenest); with a modifier, as most, least (e.g. most true, most sweet, least often); or with a word from a different root, as best and worst (being the superlatives of good and bad).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [adjective] > degree of comparison > superlative

superlativec1400

c1400 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 192 (MED) A superlatif gre sal haf genitif case plurele afftir hym or ellys a genitif singuler off a nown collectiue.

1495 Accedence (de Worde) sig. Av After a nowne..distributif, comparatif or superlatif, is y^e signe of y^e genytif case.

1568 W. Fulwood Enimie Idlenesse i. f. 1^v Of superlatiue, comparatiue, positiue or diminutiue termes, we must vse but three at once at the most.

a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. ii. iv, in Wks. (1640) III These Adverbs, more, and most, are added to the Comparative, and Superlative degrees themselves.

1651 T. Hobbes Philos. Rudim. xv. §14. 249 He..must use such [titles] as are either Negative, as infinite, eternall, incomprehensible, &c., or superlative, as most good, most great, most powerfull.

1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. xii. 290 Better, best, are the Comparative and Superlative adjectives.

1755 W. Massey Corruptae Latinitatis Index 30/1 Ignominiosissime, I have not found this superlative Adverb in any Classic Author; but some Moderns do not scruple to use it.

1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 104 Adjectives that have in themselves a superlative signification do not properly admit of the superlative form..such as, ‘Chief, extreme, perfect’.

1882 Education Mar. 426 He enlarges the capacity of his words by adding to them adjectives in the superlative degrees.

1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New Eng. II. 189 [Miss Burney] is fond of the French idiom that places the Superlative Adjective after the Substantive; as ‘a facility the most happy’.

1910 J. W. Harper Social Ideal xiii. §3. 150 Liberty is the positive, equality the comparative, and brotherhood the superlative agency of social progress.

1934 M. K. Pope From Lat. to Mod. French iv. ii. 317 The few superlative forms that survived..lost superlative force and served merely as emphatic positives.

1941 Classical Jrnl. 37 76 A revised language in which the superlative degree of the adjective ‘good’ is ‘functional’.

2006 Mod. Lang. Jrnl. 90 363/2 He then proceeded to review comparative and superlative adjective forms.

b. In extended use: (esp. of language) characterized by exaggeration, hyperbolical.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > [adjective]

hyperbolical?a1475

overchargeda1542

magnificate1568

amplified1580

superlative1586

fulsome1602

hyperthetical?1611

hyperbolous1638

hyperbolic1646

bloata1657

exaggerated1725

overshot1774

overstuffed1808

overdrawn1841

fine-drawn1888

steep1895

larger-than-life1937

blown-up1961

1586 W. Fulke Confut. Treat. W. Allen ii. ii. 354, in Treat. against Def. of Censure Bks. W. Charke & M. Hanmer If the pope speake vnproperlie, when he vttereth such emphatical and superlatiue speeches, how shal plaine men vnderstand what he meaneth.

1588 A. Fraunce Lawiers Logike Ded. sig. ¶¶ To disgrace the one, or aduance the other in comparison wise, by superlatiue woordes, and hyperbolicall amplifications.

?1611 G. Chapman in tr. Homer Iliads xv. Comm. 199 These hypertheticall or superlatiue sort of expressions & illustrations.

1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage v. 231 As for the Profane part, 'tis hideous and superlative.

1711 J. Kirkwood Hist. Twenty Seven Gods Linlithgow 69 Let's now draw near a Close, humbly beseeching the Reader not to think, that we have set out this Plea with hyperbolical and superlative Words.

1783 Eng. Rev. Dec. 451 Frightful beyond expression, Mr Knipe, is, in the present case, rather a superlative mode of diction.

1828 M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 119 To all who knew Nelly's opinion of her own doings, this praise appeared superlative.

1881 Times 14 Oct. 8/3 If I do not launch out into the use of superlative or exaggerated epithets, it is because I believe that a simple expression of thanks will, perhaps, best convey to you that which I have in my mind.

1906 Manch. Guardian 22 Mar. 8/5 He [sc. Winston Churchill] remarked that..he hoped he would not be drawn..into attempting to imitate the protracted, superlative, and rather laboured exhibition with which he had just occupied the House.

1938 Mississippi Valley Hist. Rev. 25 28 Travelers soon became suspicious of the superlative language and vaunt of the Kentucky ‘red-horse’.

1992 London Rev. Bks. 26 Mar. 2/3 His playing forces anyone who tries to describe it into a rhetoric of outdoing, a zone of superlative babbling which one is helpless to avoid.

2. Raised above or surpassing all others; supreme, utmost. Also (in weakened sense): of the highest quality or degree; excellent.

a. Of an immaterial thing, action, quality, etc.

ΚΠ

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 131 Ther nys no thyng in gree superlatyf As seith Senec, aboue an humble wyf.

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 5593 In loue among þese thre, To spekyn aftyr degrees of comparysoun, Mary stood in þe superlatyue degre.

a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander l. 9657 Quhilkis saul makis all thare operationis Obeysand to the sprite superlative.

1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus i. f. 14^v Thay..Ponderat weill the falt superlatiue.

1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 149 Reason of State, which as the times then were, was evident and superlative.

1665 G. Wither Medit. upon Lords Prayer Preamb. sig. B^v This superlative Form of Prayer.

1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck iii. 43 Thy state..Gain'd, like thine arms, superlative applause.

1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 27 Miss Archer's advice she treated with superlative contempt.

1832 Times 10 July 3/6 A melodrama containing more than the usual portion of exaggerated sentiment, superlative horrors, and tremendous personal conflict.

1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 189 This religious mission he..carried out to the best of his superlative ability.

1924 S. J. Record & C. D. Mell Timbers Trop. Amer. 247 A superlative quality of the wood.

1956 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 2 June 1299/2 Without superlative nursing and physiotherapy services some 30% of patients over 70 fail to survive three months of recumbency.

1970 H. E. Roberts Third Ear 5/2 Come on strong, to do something to a superlative degree, to an extreme; to ‘pour it on’.

2006 Stud. Romanticism 45 422 Having a door slammed in her face as she tried to enter Westminster (a superlative metaphor of her marital experience).

b. Of a person or material thing.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > surpassing excellence > [adjective]

sunderlyOE

noblec1330

precellentc1384

passantc1385

especialc1386

passinga1387

surmountingc1407

superlative?a1430

precelling?1435

pre-eminenta1460

outrepassed1477

divine1488

pre-excellenta1500

superexcellent1508

transcending1528

pre-ordinate1543

exceeding1552

superexcelling1554

exquisite1578

surpassingc1580

summary1587

paragon1593

transcendent1598

overmatchful1609

termless1609

overtoppinga1615

paramounta1626

overtowering1639

surpassant1654

transcendental1701

superior1711

towery1731

prize1739

supernala1817

tiptopsome1819

tip-topping1826

par excellence1839

superfine1850

towering1894

?a1430 T. Hoccleve Mother of God l. 9 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 52 Modir of mercy,..Þat of al vertu art superlatyf.

1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 62 The .viij. leches.., whiche were all .viij. superlatyff aboue all other lechis.

c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxcvii Gowere and Chaucere..Superlative as poetis laureate.

1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. I4 Betweene you and me declare..whether you be not a superlatiue blocke for al you readd the Philosophie Lecture at Cambridge.

a1628 F. Greville Life of Sidney (1651) vi. 75 A Peer of this Realm,..superlative in the Princes favour.

1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore v. ii. 119 O euerlasting, supernaturall superlatiue Villaine!

1657 tr. A. Thevet Prosopographia 19 in T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (new ed.) Natural Philosophy, wherein Aristotle was so superlative.

1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 105 He..allows Newcastle-Ale and Salmon to be the most superlative Diet in the Universe.

1732 H. Baker & J. Miller tr. Molière Forc'd Marriage iv. 43 in Sel. Comedies VII A Man learned, most learned... A man that possesses superlative Fables, Mythologies, and Histories.

1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxxiv. 327 You are the demdest, knowing hand,..the cunningest, rummest, superlativest old fox.

1868 A. P. Stanley Hist. Mem. Westm. Abbey iii. 124 Its Chapter House, its ornaments..were to be superlative of their kind.

1929 Time 26 Aug. 18/3 Such entertainments usually profit from the services of a superlative clown.

1949 Times 10 Dec. 5/7 There are some fine tapestries, including a set of superlative and very large hunting scenes from Chatsworth.

2005 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 70 93/2 Until fairly recently, even the most superlative nonwhite players were barred from captaining their clubs or national teams.

B. n.

a. Grammar. The superlative degree or form of an adjective or adverb; an adjective or adverb in the superlative degree. Also more generally: a word expressing the highest or a very high degree of some quality. See sense A. 1a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific

superlativec1434

positive1530

comparativea1653

superlative absolute1730

superlative relativea1733

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific > adjective or adverb in

superlativec1434

comparative1530

positive1530

c1434 J. Drury Eng. Writings in Speculum (1934) 9 79 (MED) How many degreis ben þer of Comparison? Thre..Posityf, comparatif, and þe superlatyf.

c1434 J. Drury Eng. Writings in Speculum (1934) 9 80 Þese v nownys, bonus, malus, magnus, parvus, & multus..haue þe superlatives out of þe rewle.

c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 33 How maketh they hure superlatyf? In -limus. Of what case schall the superlatyf be formed? Of the nominatyf case.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement Introd. p. xxviii We and the latines forme our comparatives and superlatyves out of our posytives.

1567 N. Sanders Rocke of Churche ii. 31 According to the Greeke phrase (where the comparatiue standeth for the Superlatiue).

1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. 220 I will now at the end of my Letter, adde a superlative; and say I am; Sir, Your most humble, most faithfull.

1653 R. Lloyd Latine Gram. 32 Superlatives may be changed and diversly rendred, either by Adverbes of intension put unto the Positive..or by Adverbes of remission with a Negative.

a1721 M. Prior Charles & Clenard in Dialogues of Dead (1907) 218 Your very Titles, Your Serenissimus and Augustissimus are superlatives created by the Power of us Grammarians.

1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 103 Double comparatives and superlatives should be avoided; such as, ‘A worser conduct’..‘The most straitest sect’.

1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xxiv. 476 ‘Omnipotence’, ‘omniscience’; infinite power, infinite knowledge, are superlatives; expressing our conception of these attributes in the strongest, and most elevated, terms.

1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New Eng. II. 43 There is the old superlative of the Adverb, ‘the rudeliest welcomed’.

1892 L. Kellner Hist. Outl. Eng. Syntax §255 (heading) The Comparative and Superlative used absolutely.

1924 H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. 81 All other classes of qualificatives..form the comparative..and superlative by the non-inflexional method.

1952 R. M. Hare Lang. Morals vi. 104 We must assume that he has learnt, on the analogy with other adjectives, that ‘best’ is the superlative of ‘good’.

2002 D. Lundy Way of Ship (2003) ii. 78 The superlative [of ‘shipshape’] was ‘shipshape and Bristol fashion’, or just ‘Bristol’.

2006 A. Cruse Gloss. Semantics & Pragmatics 44 Comparatives and superlatives may be committed or impartial, according to whether the positive form would also apply.

b. In extended and allusive use.

(a) With the. The highest degree, esp. in respect of excellence; the most extreme mode. Frequently in in the superlative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [noun] > quality or fact of being extreme > highest, utmost, or extreme degree

heightOE

perfectiona1398

utterestc1410

uttermosta1425

tiptoec1440

pinnaclec1450

utmost1472

outmostc1535

extremity1543

abyss1548

top1552

furthest, utmost stretch1558

summa summarum1567

superlative1573

strain1576

extreme1595

fine1596

last1602

yondmost1608

super-superlative1623

pitch1624

utmostness1674

pink1720

supreme1817

ultima Thule1828

peak1902

1573 G. Gascoigne Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 246 For the Sonet, were it not a little to much prayse (as the Italians do most commonly offend in the superlatiue) I could the more commend it.

1583 R. Greene Mamillia i. f. 11^v Virginity you say is delightful, yet matrimony more pleasant: Virginity you put in the positiue, but matrimonie in the superlatiue.

1658 R. Flecknoe Enigmaticall Characters 124 He speaks of every thing in the superlative, shewing the littlenesse of his minde, by counting all thing so great.

a1667 A. Cowley Verses Several Occasions 83 in Wks. (1668) The Positive parting with a little bow, the Comparative at the middle of the room, the Superlative at the door.

1725 I. Watts Logick ii. iii. iii. §6 Some Persons have a violent and turgid Manner both of Talking and Thinking... They..pronounce concerning everything in the Superlative.

1785 E. K. Mathews Constance I. 120 My brother says Lady Maria always talks in the superlative.

1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits vii. 121 An Englishman..avoids the superlative, checks himself in compliments.

1894 H. L. A. Culmer Resources & Attractions of Utah 10 The writer suffers from chronic enthusiasm and cannot describe any resource of the Territory without resorting to the superlative.

1918 J. T. Hillhouse in H. Fielding Trag. of Trag. 35 Since heroic action is always in the superlative, it is always described in the superlative.

2008 E. S. Rosenberg in S. J. Dick Remembering Space Age x. 168 The media coverage of space in the early 1960s was all in the superlative.

(b) An exaggerated or hyperbolical expression. Frequently in plural: effusive language; exaggerated or hyperbolical phraseology.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun] > exaggerated style

superlative1597

hyperbolism1653

1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 40 ^v His birth from heauen thy Tudor not deriues, Nor stands on typ-toes in superlatiues.

1597 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. i. Prol. sig. B1^v To..pranck base men in proud Superlatiues.

1640 J. Howell Δενδρολογια 205 Call him the supreme Intelligence, the spirit that moves the heavens and the starres, the Phoenix of the earth, and such like superlatives, and Hyperbole's.

1697 K. Chetwood Life Virgil in J. Dryden tr. Virgil Wks. sig. *4^v Nor were they under the constraint..of violent Superlatives at the close of their Letter.

1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. III. xxi. 195 Writers of inferior rank are continually upon the stretch to enliven and enforce their subject by exaggeration and superlatives.

1781 R. B. Sheridan Critic i. ii. 34 'Twas I first taught them to crowd their advertisements with panegyrical superlatives, each epithet rising above the other.

1858 Times 8 Sept. 7/3 It is almost useless attempting to convey any adequate idea of Her Majesty's reception. It would merely exhaust superlatives without effecting any result.

1896 Fam. & Pers. Mem. Ld. Selborne I. ix. 137 He thought and felt in superlatives.

1930 F. L. Pattee New Amer. Lit. i. 9 In quantity American literature was flourishing but in quality it was at its lowest ebb. The new generation of critics already was damning it with superlatives.

1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker vi. xl. 926 It's all superlatives when you talk about this bridge.

2001 Premiere Dec. 42/2 During his first earnings conference at Yahoo..he droned superlatives like ‘significant challenge’, ‘terrific opportunity’.

2. A superlative person or thing; one surpassing all others; the supreme or best example (of something).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent person or thing

carbunclea1350

swanc1386

phoenixc1400

diamondc1440

broocha1464

surmounterc1500

sovereign?a1513

primrose peerless1523

superlative1577

transcendent1593

Arabian birda1616

crack1637

first rate1681

peach1710

phoenicle1711

admiration1717

spanker1751

first-raterc1760

no slouch of1767

nailer1806

tip-topper1822

ripper1825

ripstaver1828

apotheosis1832

clinker1836

clipper1836

bird1839

keener1839

ripsnorter1840

beater1845

firecracker1845

pumpkin1845

screamer1846

stunner1847

bottler1855

beaut1866

bobby-dazzler1866

one out of the box1867

stem-winder1875

corker1877

trimmer1878

hot stuff1884

daisy1886

jim-dandy1887

cracker1891

jim-hickey1895

peacherino1896

pippin1897

alpha plus1898

peacherine1900

pip1900

humdinger1905

bosker1906

hummer1907

good egg1914

superstar1914

the berries1918

bee's knee1923

the cat's whiskers1923

smash1923

smash hit1923

brahma1925

dilly1935

piss-cutter1935

killer1937

killer-diller1938

a hard act to follow1942

peacheroo1942

bitch1946

brammerc1950

hot shit1960

Tiffany1973

bollocks1981

1577 R. Smythe tr. M. Bandello Straunge, Lamentable, & Tragicall Hystories sig. L.ij Reason doeth not extend herselfe to this end, that sinne and vertue should be placed alyke, for vertue is the superlatiue aboue her, contrary, which is put vnder her as a subiect.

1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 359 Amongst the most famous preachers in Rome..three were..all superlatiues in a different kind.

1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. ii. 4 This..is the best of all, and may be call'd the superlatif of the three.

1702 D. Defoe Reformation of Manners 61 In vain you strive ill Manners to suppress, By the Superlatives of Wickedness.

1725 I. Watts Logick ii. v. 399 Nature seldom deals in Superlatives.

a1816 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal (rev. ed.) Portrait in Wks. (1821) II. 4 Nature's best, and Heaven's superlative.

1885 W. F. Crafts Sabbath for Man (1895) 188 The so-called Christians who sanction these Sunday parties are the superlatives of hypocrisy.

1903 Westm. Gaz. 17 Sept. 5/2 I sell bread here made from best ‘London whites’ and ‘superlatives’ at 6d. per loaf.

1954 R. H. Stevens tr. M. Bormann in Bormann Lett. 5 You are the superlative of all the women I know or ever knew.

1992 A. Bell tr. M. Toussaint-Samat Hist. Food xv. 518 Chilli has in a way become the superlative among spices.

3. The utmost point or limit of something; a pinnacle, height, or acme.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > state of or advanced condition > highest point

prickOE

heighta1050

full1340

higha1398

pointc1400

roofa1500

top-castle1548

ruff1549

acmea1568

tip1567

noontide1578

high tide1579

superlative1583

summity1588

spring tide1593

meridian1594

period1595

apogee1600

punctilio1601

high-water mark1602

noon1609

zenith1610

auge1611

apex1624

culmination1633

cumble1640

culmen1646

climax1647

topc1650

cumulus1659

summit1661

perigeum1670

highest1688

consummation1698

stretch1741

high point1787

perihelion1804

summary1831

comble1832

heading up1857

climacteric1870

flashpoint1878

tip-end1885

peak1902

noontime1903

Omega point1981

1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Ffii The prince of whome I speake, is in the Positiue degree of her Superlatiue.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. vii. 10 Monasticall men then raigning al in their superlatiue.

1653 R. Saunders Treat. Moles Body Man & Woman 4 in Physiognomie The superlative of his good fortunes shall be in Merchandizing.

1685 E. Waller Divine Poems 25 What Mortal can with Heav'n pretend to share In the Superlatives of Wise and Fair?

1791 J. Trapp tr. J. W. von Archenholz Picture of Italy I. iv. 109 Piedmont belongs to the superlative of Italian bigotry.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. v. ix. 292 So many highest superlatives achieved by man are followed by new higher; and dwindle into comparatives and positives.

1892 Homiletic Rev. Mar. 250/1 No tapering off in a life of sin; but you can taper on from bad to worse eternally, and never reach the superlative.

1959 J. G. Gray Warriors ii. 55 Few men ever reach superlatives in the realm of destruction.

2007 A. J. Twerski Happiness & Human Spirit (2008) iv. 39 Vain people run into a roadblock right from the start: if they think they have already achieved the superlative, they will not see any need to be ‘better’!

a. superlative absolute n. (also absolute superlative) Grammar the form of an adjective expressing a very high degree of a quality, without explicit reference to a standard of comparison (cf. superlative relative n. at sense B. 4b).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific

superlativec1434

positive1530

comparativea1653

superlative absolute1730

superlative relativea1733

1730 J. Palairet New Royal French Gram. 81 The Superlative absolute, is that which expresses only the Quality of a thing in the highest Degree.

1788 N. Salmon Compl. Syst. French Lang. 31 You will find that tout..que..has the force of an absolute superlative.

1788 J. J. D'Etrouville Ground-work Gram. French Lang. xv. 272 The superlative absolute expresses the highest or lowest degree of the adjective, without effecting comparison.

1829 P. Bachi Gram. Ital. Lang. Introd. 4 The absolute superlative shows that the object spoken of possesses a quality in the superlative degree, but without reference to any other.

1884 Sc. Rev. July 58 Besides verra, ‘very’, several other words are used to express the superlative absolute, such as real, richt, unco', byous.

1903 Amer. Anthropologist 5 516 Gof is..frequently used [in the Chamorro language] to indicate the superlative absolute.

1972 Classical Jrnl. 68 70 For the absolute superlative we may use ‘most’ or ‘very’, and we often hear the substitutes ‘awfully’, ‘terribly’, or ‘real’.

1991 J. I. Hualde Basque Phonol. ii. 51 The comparative and superlative absolute trigger both Mid Vowel Raising with stems ending in a mid vowel and Glide Insertion with stems ending in a high vowel.

b. superlative relative n. (also relative superlative) Grammar the form of an adjective expressing the highest degree of a quality in relation to all other members of the same class; cf. superlative absolute n. at sense B. 4a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific

superlativec1434

positive1530

comparativea1653

superlative absolute1730

superlative relativea1733

a1733 J. Freebairn New French Gram. (1734) iii. ii. 75 The Relative Superlative expresses the Supreme Degree of the Quality, with a Reference of Comparison, with other Persons or Things.

1798 B. Arleville Pract. Accidence French Tongue 35 Their Superlative relative of superiority or inferiority is formed by putting le before their Comparative.

1841 I. Nordheimer Crit. Gram. Hebrew Lang. II. iii. iv. 58 The relative superlative..intimates a comparison, and is denoted in English by the superlative termination or an adverb and the definite article.

1894 G. Steel Eng. Gram. & Anal. vi. 139 The Superlative Relative must not be used except for the third or highest degree, out of three or more instances.

1962 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 82 517/2 In early Middle Indo-Aryan..the relative superlative was weakened and gradually replaced by the comparative.

1991 J. I. Hualde Basque Phonol. ii. 51 The only affixes that show this behaviour are the superlative relative and the genitive indefinite..and a few other indefinite suffixes.

2007 R. Worth in S. S. Magnan Mediating Disc. Online iii. 257 T has upped the ante again, switching from a comparison (Italy is more beautiful) to a relative superlative (Italy is the most beautiful).

Compounds

Superlative Surprise n. Campanology a complicated method of change-ringing, being a variation of treble bob (bob n.⁵); cf. surprise n. 5.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [noun] > going through all the changes > changes > specific

set peal16..

grandsire1668

whole pull1668

bob1671

peal1671

course1677

set changes1677

single1684

single change1688

Plain Bob1702

Stedman1731

Superlative Surprise1788

touch1788

triple1798

triple bob major1809

maximus1813

royal1813

call changes1837

slam1854

cater1872

cinques1872

triple change1872

plain hunt1874

plain hunting1874

quarter peal1888

method1901

short course1904

1788 W. Jones et al. Key to Art of Ringing xi. 179 Superlative Surprise... The above is an original composition of our own on purpose for this work, and has never yet been rung: the principle upon which it is founded, will..give it credit among amateurs of the art, for..it will plainly appear the most even treble bob peal..discovered.

1845 Cambr. Chron. 6 Dec. 4/3 The company of change-ringers, of Saffron Walden, performing..upwards of 1,200 changes of Superlative Surprise.

1931 E. Morris Hist. Change Ringing 458 Harry Withers..once..conducted a peal of Superlative Surprise at Selly Oak, Birmingham.

2000 Scunthorpe Evening Tel. (Nexis) 19 Sept. 15 The band decided to try and ring a quarter peal..the method was Superlative Surprise Major.

Derivatives

suˈperlativeness n. the quality or state of being superlative; excellence.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being the best > [noun]

bestness1548

preseance1591

presidency1608

primity1643

superlativenessa1649

supreme1681

optimism1797

a1649 G. Abbott Brief Notes Psalms (1651) cxiii. 112 The superlativeness of glory.

1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Superlativeness, the highest Degree.

1816 W. Butcher Plain Disc. III. xxiv. 32 Of heavenly happiness, the human mind..can form but an imperfect idea; yet, all those images are employed to represent the superlativeness of its felicities.

1888 H. W. Parker Spirit of Beauty (1891) 70 Variation into all forms of use and loveliness and final superlativeness.

2004 Speculum 79 37 The strategic superlativeness of these fortifications in seizing and holding land.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	superlative
释义	superlativeadj.n. Brit. /suːˈpəːlətɪv/, /sjuːˈpəːlətɪv/, /sᵿˈpəːlətɪv/, /sjᵿˈpəːlətɪv/, U.S. /səˈpərlədɪv/ Forms: Middle English superlatyf, Middle English superlatyfe, Middle English superlatyff, Middle English superlatyue, Middle English 1600s superlatif, Middle English– superlative, 1500s sewperlatyve, 1500s superlatyve, 1500s–1600s superlatiue, 1600s suparlative. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French superlatif; Latin superlātīvum; Latin superlātīvus. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French superlatif (French superlatif ) (adjective) (of God) that is above all (c1170 in Old French as supellatif ), that is excellent, extraordinary, or a supreme example of its kind (13th cent.), (in grammar) having a form expressing the highest degree of comparison, of, relating to, or designating such a form or degree (beginning of the 14th cent.), excessive, exaggerated (1566), (noun) (in grammar) highest degree of comparison (2nd half of the 13th cent.), form of an adjective or adverb expressing the highest degree of comparison (1550; also in corresponding adjectival use), and (ii) its etymons classical Latin superlātīvum (neuter noun) (in grammar) highest degree of comparison, and superlātīvus (masculine noun) form of an adjective or adverb expressing the highest degree of comparison (attested in an 8th-cent. epitome of a 2nd-cent. grammarian), in post-classical Latin also superlativus (adjective) (of an adjective or adverb) having a form expressing the highest degree of comparison, of, relating to, or designating such a form or degree (4th cent.), exaggerated, hyperbolical (a636 in Isidore), excellent, remarkable (second half of the 12th cent.) < superlātus (used as past participle of superferre ; < super- super- prefix + lāt- (for tlāt- ), past participial stem of tollere* to take away: see tollent adj.) + -īvum and -īvus respectively (see -ive suffix). Compare Catalan superlatiu (1490), Spanish superlativo (15th cent.), Portuguese superlativo (15th cent.), Italian superlativo (14th cent.).Compare the following early use of the Latin word (in senses A. 1a and B. 1a) in an English context:OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 15 Sume [naman] synd svperlativa, þæt synd oferstigendlice, þa geswuteliað ða mæstan and ða betstan: maximus se mæsta, optimus se selosta.OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 16 svperlativvs is se ðridda stæpe: iustissimus ealra rihtwisost.OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 240 On ðissere geendunge gað ealle comparativa: ocius hrædlicor, ac heora svperlativa geendiað on e: ocissime hrædlicost. A. adj. 1. a. Grammar. Of an adjective or adverb: having a form expressing the highest or a very high degree of a quality or attribute; of, relating to, or designating such a form or degree. Also figurative. Cf. positive adj. 12, comparative adj. 2.In English the superlative degree of an adjective or adverb can be expressed with inflection, as with the suffix -est (e.g. truest, sweetest, oftenest); with a modifier, as most, least (e.g. most true, most sweet, least often); or with a word from a different root, as best and worst (being the superlatives of good and bad). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [adjective] > degree of comparison > superlative superlativec1400 c1400 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 192 (MED) A superlatif gre sal haf genitif case plurele afftir hym or ellys a genitif singuler off a nown collectiue. 1495 Accedence (de Worde) sig. Av After a nowne..distributif, comparatif or superlatif, is y^e signe of y^e genytif case. 1568 W. Fulwood Enimie Idlenesse i. f. 1^v Of superlatiue, comparatiue, positiue or diminutiue termes, we must vse but three at once at the most. a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. ii. iv, in Wks. (1640) III These Adverbs, more, and most, are added to the Comparative, and Superlative degrees themselves. 1651 T. Hobbes Philos. Rudim. xv. §14. 249 He..must use such [titles] as are either Negative, as infinite, eternall, incomprehensible, &c., or superlative, as most good, most great, most powerfull. 1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. xii. 290 Better, best, are the Comparative and Superlative adjectives. 1755 W. Massey Corruptae Latinitatis Index 30/1 Ignominiosissime, I have not found this superlative Adverb in any Classic Author; but some Moderns do not scruple to use it. 1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 104 Adjectives that have in themselves a superlative signification do not properly admit of the superlative form..such as, ‘Chief, extreme, perfect’. 1882 Education Mar. 426 He enlarges the capacity of his words by adding to them adjectives in the superlative degrees. 1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New Eng. II. 189 [Miss Burney] is fond of the French idiom that places the Superlative Adjective after the Substantive; as ‘a facility the most happy’. 1910 J. W. Harper Social Ideal xiii. §3. 150 Liberty is the positive, equality the comparative, and brotherhood the superlative agency of social progress. 1934 M. K. Pope From Lat. to Mod. French iv. ii. 317 The few superlative forms that survived..lost superlative force and served merely as emphatic positives. 1941 Classical Jrnl. 37 76 A revised language in which the superlative degree of the adjective ‘good’ is ‘functional’. 2006 Mod. Lang. Jrnl. 90 363/2 He then proceeded to review comparative and superlative adjective forms. b. In extended use: (esp. of language) characterized by exaggeration, hyperbolical. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > [adjective] hyperbolical?a1475 overchargeda1542 magnificate1568 amplified1580 superlative1586 fulsome1602 hyperthetical?1611 hyperbolous1638 hyperbolic1646 bloata1657 exaggerated1725 overshot1774 overstuffed1808 overdrawn1841 fine-drawn1888 steep1895 larger-than-life1937 blown-up1961 1586 W. Fulke Confut. Treat. W. Allen ii. ii. 354, in Treat. against Def. of Censure Bks. W. Charke & M. Hanmer If the pope speake vnproperlie, when he vttereth such emphatical and superlatiue speeches, how shal plaine men vnderstand what he meaneth. 1588 A. Fraunce Lawiers Logike Ded. sig. ¶¶ To disgrace the one, or aduance the other in comparison wise, by superlatiue woordes, and hyperbolicall amplifications. ?1611 G. Chapman in tr. Homer Iliads xv. Comm. 199 These hypertheticall or superlatiue sort of expressions & illustrations. 1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage v. 231 As for the Profane part, 'tis hideous and superlative. 1711 J. Kirkwood Hist. Twenty Seven Gods Linlithgow 69 Let's now draw near a Close, humbly beseeching the Reader not to think, that we have set out this Plea with hyperbolical and superlative Words. 1783 Eng. Rev. Dec. 451 Frightful beyond expression, Mr Knipe, is, in the present case, rather a superlative mode of diction. 1828 M. R. Mitford Our Village III. 119 To all who knew Nelly's opinion of her own doings, this praise appeared superlative. 1881 Times 14 Oct. 8/3 If I do not launch out into the use of superlative or exaggerated epithets, it is because I believe that a simple expression of thanks will, perhaps, best convey to you that which I have in my mind. 1906 Manch. Guardian 22 Mar. 8/5 He [sc. Winston Churchill] remarked that..he hoped he would not be drawn..into attempting to imitate the protracted, superlative, and rather laboured exhibition with which he had just occupied the House. 1938 Mississippi Valley Hist. Rev. 25 28 Travelers soon became suspicious of the superlative language and vaunt of the Kentucky ‘red-horse’. 1992 London Rev. Bks. 26 Mar. 2/3 His playing forces anyone who tries to describe it into a rhetoric of outdoing, a zone of superlative babbling which one is helpless to avoid. 2. Raised above or surpassing all others; supreme, utmost. Also (in weakened sense): of the highest quality or degree; excellent. a. Of an immaterial thing, action, quality, etc. ΚΠ c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 131 Ther nys no thyng in gree superlatyf As seith Senec, aboue an humble wyf. 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 5593 In loue among þese thre, To spekyn aftyr degrees of comparysoun, Mary stood in þe superlatyue degre. a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander l. 9657 Quhilkis saul makis all thare operationis Obeysand to the sprite superlative. 1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus i. f. 14^v Thay..Ponderat weill the falt superlatiue. 1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 149 Reason of State, which as the times then were, was evident and superlative. 1665 G. Wither Medit. upon Lords Prayer Preamb. sig. B^v This superlative Form of Prayer. 1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck iii. 43 Thy state..Gain'd, like thine arms, superlative applause. 1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 27 Miss Archer's advice she treated with superlative contempt. 1832 Times 10 July 3/6 A melodrama containing more than the usual portion of exaggerated sentiment, superlative horrors, and tremendous personal conflict. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 189 This religious mission he..carried out to the best of his superlative ability. 1924 S. J. Record & C. D. Mell Timbers Trop. Amer. 247 A superlative quality of the wood. 1956 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 2 June 1299/2 Without superlative nursing and physiotherapy services some 30% of patients over 70 fail to survive three months of recumbency. 1970 H. E. Roberts Third Ear 5/2 Come on strong, to do something to a superlative degree, to an extreme; to ‘pour it on’. 2006 Stud. Romanticism 45 422 Having a door slammed in her face as she tried to enter Westminster (a superlative metaphor of her marital experience). b. Of a person or material thing. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > surpassing excellence > [adjective] sunderlyOE noblec1330 precellentc1384 passantc1385 especialc1386 passinga1387 surmountingc1407 superlative?a1430 precelling?1435 pre-eminenta1460 outrepassed1477 divine1488 pre-excellenta1500 superexcellent1508 transcending1528 pre-ordinate1543 exceeding1552 superexcelling1554 exquisite1578 surpassingc1580 summary1587 paragon1593 transcendent1598 overmatchful1609 termless1609 overtoppinga1615 paramounta1626 overtowering1639 surpassant1654 transcendental1701 superior1711 towery1731 prize1739 supernala1817 tiptopsome1819 tip-topping1826 par excellence1839 superfine1850 towering1894 ?a1430 T. Hoccleve Mother of God l. 9 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 52 Modir of mercy,..Þat of al vertu art superlatyf. 1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 62 The .viij. leches.., whiche were all .viij. superlatyff aboue all other lechis. c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxcvii Gowere and Chaucere..Superlative as poetis laureate. 1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. I4 Betweene you and me declare..whether you be not a superlatiue blocke for al you readd the Philosophie Lecture at Cambridge. a1628 F. Greville Life of Sidney (1651) vi. 75 A Peer of this Realm,..superlative in the Princes favour. 1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore v. ii. 119 O euerlasting, supernaturall superlatiue Villaine! 1657 tr. A. Thevet Prosopographia 19 in T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (new ed.) Natural Philosophy, wherein Aristotle was so superlative. 1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 105 He..allows Newcastle-Ale and Salmon to be the most superlative Diet in the Universe. 1732 H. Baker & J. Miller tr. Molière Forc'd Marriage iv. 43 in Sel. Comedies VII A Man learned, most learned... A man that possesses superlative Fables, Mythologies, and Histories. 1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxxiv. 327 You are the demdest, knowing hand,..the cunningest, rummest, superlativest old fox. 1868 A. P. Stanley Hist. Mem. Westm. Abbey iii. 124 Its Chapter House, its ornaments..were to be superlative of their kind. 1929 Time 26 Aug. 18/3 Such entertainments usually profit from the services of a superlative clown. 1949 Times 10 Dec. 5/7 There are some fine tapestries, including a set of superlative and very large hunting scenes from Chatsworth. 2005 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 70 93/2 Until fairly recently, even the most superlative nonwhite players were barred from captaining their clubs or national teams. B. n. 1. a. Grammar. The superlative degree or form of an adjective or adverb; an adjective or adverb in the superlative degree. Also more generally: a word expressing the highest or a very high degree of some quality. See sense A. 1a. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific superlativec1434 positive1530 comparativea1653 superlative absolute1730 superlative relativea1733 the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific > adjective or adverb in superlativec1434 comparative1530 positive1530 c1434 J. Drury Eng. Writings in Speculum (1934) 9 79 (MED) How many degreis ben þer of Comparison? Thre..Posityf, comparatif, and þe superlatyf. c1434 J. Drury Eng. Writings in Speculum (1934) 9 80 Þese v nownys, bonus, malus, magnus, parvus, & multus..haue þe superlatives out of þe rewle. c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 33 How maketh they hure superlatyf? In -limus. Of what case schall the superlatyf be formed? Of the nominatyf case. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement Introd. p. xxviii We and the latines forme our comparatives and superlatyves out of our posytives. 1567 N. Sanders Rocke of Churche ii. 31 According to the Greeke phrase (where the comparatiue standeth for the Superlatiue). 1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. 220 I will now at the end of my Letter, adde a superlative; and say I am; Sir, Your most humble, most faithfull. 1653 R. Lloyd Latine Gram. 32 Superlatives may be changed and diversly rendred, either by Adverbes of intension put unto the Positive..or by Adverbes of remission with a Negative. a1721 M. Prior Charles & Clenard in Dialogues of Dead (1907) 218 Your very Titles, Your Serenissimus and Augustissimus are superlatives created by the Power of us Grammarians. 1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 103 Double comparatives and superlatives should be avoided; such as, ‘A worser conduct’..‘The most straitest sect’. 1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xxiv. 476 ‘Omnipotence’, ‘omniscience’; infinite power, infinite knowledge, are superlatives; expressing our conception of these attributes in the strongest, and most elevated, terms. 1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New Eng. II. 43 There is the old superlative of the Adverb, ‘the rudeliest welcomed’. 1892 L. Kellner Hist. Outl. Eng. Syntax §255 (heading) The Comparative and Superlative used absolutely. 1924 H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. 81 All other classes of qualificatives..form the comparative..and superlative by the non-inflexional method. 1952 R. M. Hare Lang. Morals vi. 104 We must assume that he has learnt, on the analogy with other adjectives, that ‘best’ is the superlative of ‘good’. 2002 D. Lundy Way of Ship (2003) ii. 78 The superlative [of ‘shipshape’] was ‘shipshape and Bristol fashion’, or just ‘Bristol’. 2006 A. Cruse Gloss. Semantics & Pragmatics 44 Comparatives and superlatives may be committed or impartial, according to whether the positive form would also apply. b. In extended and allusive use. (a) With the. The highest degree, esp. in respect of excellence; the most extreme mode. Frequently in in the superlative. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [noun] > quality or fact of being extreme > highest, utmost, or extreme degree heightOE perfectiona1398 utterestc1410 uttermosta1425 tiptoec1440 pinnaclec1450 utmost1472 outmostc1535 extremity1543 abyss1548 top1552 furthest, utmost stretch1558 summa summarum1567 superlative1573 strain1576 extreme1595 fine1596 last1602 yondmost1608 super-superlative1623 pitch1624 utmostness1674 pink1720 supreme1817 ultima Thule1828 peak1902 1573 G. Gascoigne Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 246 For the Sonet, were it not a little to much prayse (as the Italians do most commonly offend in the superlatiue) I could the more commend it. 1583 R. Greene Mamillia i. f. 11^v Virginity you say is delightful, yet matrimony more pleasant: Virginity you put in the positiue, but matrimonie in the superlatiue. 1658 R. Flecknoe Enigmaticall Characters 124 He speaks of every thing in the superlative, shewing the littlenesse of his minde, by counting all thing so great. a1667 A. Cowley Verses Several Occasions 83 in Wks. (1668) The Positive parting with a little bow, the Comparative at the middle of the room, the Superlative at the door. 1725 I. Watts Logick ii. iii. iii. §6 Some Persons have a violent and turgid Manner both of Talking and Thinking... They..pronounce concerning everything in the Superlative. 1785 E. K. Mathews Constance I. 120 My brother says Lady Maria always talks in the superlative. 1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits vii. 121 An Englishman..avoids the superlative, checks himself in compliments. 1894 H. L. A. Culmer Resources & Attractions of Utah 10 The writer suffers from chronic enthusiasm and cannot describe any resource of the Territory without resorting to the superlative. 1918 J. T. Hillhouse in H. Fielding Trag. of Trag. 35 Since heroic action is always in the superlative, it is always described in the superlative. 2008 E. S. Rosenberg in S. J. Dick Remembering Space Age x. 168 The media coverage of space in the early 1960s was all in the superlative. (b) An exaggerated or hyperbolical expression. Frequently in plural: effusive language; exaggerated or hyperbolical phraseology. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun] > exaggerated style superlative1597 hyperbolism1653 1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 40 ^v His birth from heauen thy Tudor not deriues, Nor stands on typ-toes in superlatiues. 1597 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. i. Prol. sig. B1^v To..pranck base men in proud Superlatiues. 1640 J. Howell Δενδρολογια 205 Call him the supreme Intelligence, the spirit that moves the heavens and the starres, the Phoenix of the earth, and such like superlatives, and Hyperbole's. 1697 K. Chetwood Life Virgil in J. Dryden tr. Virgil Wks. sig. 4^v Nor were they under the constraint..of violent Superlatives at the close of their Letter. 1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit.* III. xxi. 195 Writers of inferior rank are continually upon the stretch to enliven and enforce their subject by exaggeration and superlatives. 1781 R. B. Sheridan Critic i. ii. 34 'Twas I first taught them to crowd their advertisements with panegyrical superlatives, each epithet rising above the other. 1858 Times 8 Sept. 7/3 It is almost useless attempting to convey any adequate idea of Her Majesty's reception. It would merely exhaust superlatives without effecting any result. 1896 Fam. & Pers. Mem. Ld. Selborne I. ix. 137 He thought and felt in superlatives. 1930 F. L. Pattee New Amer. Lit. i. 9 In quantity American literature was flourishing but in quality it was at its lowest ebb. The new generation of critics already was damning it with superlatives. 1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker vi. xl. 926 It's all superlatives when you talk about this bridge. 2001 Premiere Dec. 42/2 During his first earnings conference at Yahoo..he droned superlatives like ‘significant challenge’, ‘terrific opportunity’. 2. A superlative person or thing; one surpassing all others; the supreme or best example (of something). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent person or thing carbunclea1350 swanc1386 phoenixc1400 diamondc1440 broocha1464 surmounterc1500 sovereign?a1513 primrose peerless1523 superlative1577 transcendent1593 Arabian birda1616 crack1637 first rate1681 peach1710 phoenicle1711 admiration1717 spanker1751 first-raterc1760 no slouch of1767 nailer1806 tip-topper1822 ripper1825 ripstaver1828 apotheosis1832 clinker1836 clipper1836 bird1839 keener1839 ripsnorter1840 beater1845 firecracker1845 pumpkin1845 screamer1846 stunner1847 bottler1855 beaut1866 bobby-dazzler1866 one out of the box1867 stem-winder1875 corker1877 trimmer1878 hot stuff1884 daisy1886 jim-dandy1887 cracker1891 jim-hickey1895 peacherino1896 pippin1897 alpha plus1898 peacherine1900 pip1900 humdinger1905 bosker1906 hummer1907 good egg1914 superstar1914 the berries1918 bee's knee1923 the cat's whiskers1923 smash1923 smash hit1923 brahma1925 dilly1935 piss-cutter1935 killer1937 killer-diller1938 a hard act to follow1942 peacheroo1942 bitch1946 brammerc1950 hot shit1960 Tiffany1973 bollocks1981 1577 R. Smythe tr. M. Bandello Straunge, Lamentable, & Tragicall Hystories sig. L.ij Reason doeth not extend herselfe to this end, that sinne and vertue should be placed alyke, for vertue is the superlatiue aboue her, contrary, which is put vnder her as a subiect. 1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 359 Amongst the most famous preachers in Rome..three were..all superlatiues in a different kind. 1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. ii. 4 This..is the best of all, and may be call'd the superlatif of the three. 1702 D. Defoe Reformation of Manners 61 In vain you strive ill Manners to suppress, By the Superlatives of Wickedness. 1725 I. Watts Logick ii. v. 399 Nature seldom deals in Superlatives. a1816 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal (rev. ed.) Portrait in Wks. (1821) II. 4 Nature's best, and Heaven's superlative. 1885 W. F. Crafts Sabbath for Man (1895) 188 The so-called Christians who sanction these Sunday parties are the superlatives of hypocrisy. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 17 Sept. 5/2 I sell bread here made from best ‘London whites’ and ‘superlatives’ at 6d. per loaf. 1954 R. H. Stevens tr. M. Bormann in Bormann Lett. 5 You are the superlative of all the women I know or ever knew. 1992 A. Bell tr. M. Toussaint-Samat Hist. Food xv. 518 Chilli has in a way become the superlative among spices. 3. The utmost point or limit of something; a pinnacle, height, or acme. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > state of or advanced condition > highest point prickOE heighta1050 full1340 higha1398 pointc1400 roofa1500 top-castle1548 ruff1549 acmea1568 tip1567 noontide1578 high tide1579 superlative1583 summity1588 spring tide1593 meridian1594 period1595 apogee1600 punctilio1601 high-water mark1602 noon1609 zenith1610 auge1611 apex1624 culmination1633 cumble1640 culmen1646 climax1647 topc1650 cumulus1659 summit1661 perigeum1670 highest1688 consummation1698 stretch1741 high point1787 perihelion1804 summary1831 comble1832 heading up1857 climacteric1870 flashpoint1878 tip-end1885 peak1902 noontime1903 Omega point1981 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Ffii The prince of whome I speake, is in the Positiue degree of her Superlatiue. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. vii. 10 Monasticall men then raigning al in their superlatiue. 1653 R. Saunders Treat. Moles Body Man & Woman 4 in Physiognomie The superlative of his good fortunes shall be in Merchandizing. 1685 E. Waller Divine Poems 25 What Mortal can with Heav'n pretend to share In the Superlatives of Wise and Fair? 1791 J. Trapp tr. J. W. von Archenholz Picture of Italy I. iv. 109 Piedmont belongs to the superlative of Italian bigotry. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. v. ix. 292 So many highest superlatives achieved by man are followed by new higher; and dwindle into comparatives and positives. 1892 Homiletic Rev. Mar. 250/1 No tapering off in a life of sin; but you can taper on from bad to worse eternally, and never reach the superlative. 1959 J. G. Gray Warriors ii. 55 Few men ever reach superlatives in the realm of destruction. 2007 A. J. Twerski Happiness & Human Spirit (2008) iv. 39 Vain people run into a roadblock right from the start: if they think they have already achieved the superlative, they will not see any need to be ‘better’! 4. a. superlative absolute n. (also absolute superlative) Grammar the form of an adjective expressing a very high degree of a quality, without explicit reference to a standard of comparison (cf. superlative relative n. at sense B. 4b). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific superlativec1434 positive1530 comparativea1653 superlative absolute1730 superlative relativea1733 1730 J. Palairet New Royal French Gram. 81 The Superlative absolute, is that which expresses only the Quality of a thing in the highest Degree. 1788 N. Salmon Compl. Syst. French Lang. 31 You will find that tout..que..has the force of an absolute superlative. 1788 J. J. D'Etrouville Ground-work Gram. French Lang. xv. 272 The superlative absolute expresses the highest or lowest degree of the adjective, without effecting comparison. 1829 P. Bachi Gram. Ital. Lang. Introd. 4 The absolute superlative shows that the object spoken of possesses a quality in the superlative degree, but without reference to any other. 1884 Sc. Rev. July 58 Besides verra, ‘very’, several other words are used to express the superlative absolute, such as real, richt, unco', byous. 1903 Amer. Anthropologist 5 516 Gof is..frequently used [in the Chamorro language] to indicate the superlative absolute. 1972 Classical Jrnl. 68 70 For the absolute superlative we may use ‘most’ or ‘very’, and we often hear the substitutes ‘awfully’, ‘terribly’, or ‘real’. 1991 J. I. Hualde Basque Phonol. ii. 51 The comparative and superlative absolute trigger both Mid Vowel Raising with stems ending in a mid vowel and Glide Insertion with stems ending in a high vowel. b. superlative relative n. (also relative superlative) Grammar the form of an adjective expressing the highest degree of a quality in relation to all other members of the same class; cf. superlative absolute n. at sense B. 4a. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > comparison of adjectives or adverbs > degree(s) of comparison > specific superlativec1434 positive1530 comparativea1653 superlative absolute1730 superlative relativea1733 a1733 J. Freebairn New French Gram. (1734) iii. ii. 75 The Relative Superlative expresses the Supreme Degree of the Quality, with a Reference of Comparison, with other Persons or Things. 1798 B. Arleville Pract. Accidence French Tongue 35 Their Superlative relative of superiority or inferiority is formed by putting le before their Comparative. 1841 I. Nordheimer Crit. Gram. Hebrew Lang. II. iii. iv. 58 The relative superlative..intimates a comparison, and is denoted in English by the superlative termination or an adverb and the definite article. 1894 G. Steel Eng. Gram. & Anal. vi. 139 The Superlative Relative must not be used except for the third or highest degree, out of three or more instances. 1962 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 82 517/2 In early Middle Indo-Aryan..the relative superlative was weakened and gradually replaced by the comparative. 1991 J. I. Hualde Basque Phonol. ii. 51 The only affixes that show this behaviour are the superlative relative and the genitive indefinite..and a few other indefinite suffixes. 2007 R. Worth in S. S. Magnan Mediating Disc. Online iii. 257 T has upped the ante again, switching from a comparison (Italy is more beautiful) to a relative superlative (Italy is the most beautiful). Compounds Superlative Surprise n. Campanology a complicated method of change-ringing, being a variation of treble bob (bob n.⁵); cf. surprise n. 5. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > bell-ringing > [noun] > going through all the changes > changes > specific set peal16.. grandsire1668 whole pull1668 bob1671 peal1671 course1677 set changes1677 single1684 single change1688 Plain Bob1702 Stedman1731 Superlative Surprise1788 touch1788 triple1798 triple bob major1809 maximus1813 royal1813 call changes1837 slam1854 cater1872 cinques1872 triple change1872 plain hunt1874 plain hunting1874 quarter peal1888 method1901 short course1904 1788 W. Jones et al. Key to Art of Ringing xi. 179 Superlative Surprise... The above is an original composition of our own on purpose for this work, and has never yet been rung: the principle upon which it is founded, will..give it credit among amateurs of the art, for..it will plainly appear the most even treble bob peal..discovered. 1845 Cambr. Chron. 6 Dec. 4/3 The company of change-ringers, of Saffron Walden, performing..upwards of 1,200 changes of Superlative Surprise. 1931 E. Morris Hist. Change Ringing 458 Harry Withers..once..conducted a peal of Superlative Surprise at Selly Oak, Birmingham. 2000 Scunthorpe Evening Tel. (Nexis) 19 Sept. 15 The band decided to try and ring a quarter peal..the method was Superlative Surprise Major. Derivatives suˈperlativeness n. the quality or state of being superlative; excellence. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being the best > [noun] bestness1548 preseance1591 presidency1608 primity1643 superlativenessa1649 supreme1681 optimism1797 a1649 G. Abbott Brief Notes Psalms (1651) cxiii. 112 The superlativeness of glory. 1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Superlativeness, the highest Degree. 1816 W. Butcher Plain Disc. III. xxiv. 32 Of heavenly happiness, the human mind..can form but an imperfect idea; yet, all those images are employed to represent the superlativeness of its felicities. 1888 H. W. Parker Spirit of Beauty (1891) 70 Variation into all forms of use and loveliness and final superlativeness. 2004 Speculum 79 37 The strategic superlativeness of these fortifications in seizing and holding land. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.n.c1400
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