Chapter 99

THE SUPERLATIVE DEGREE.

§ 255. The Anglo-Saxon word for _first_ was _for-m-a_.

The root was _for_ = the Latin _præ_, the Greek [Greek: pro], and being the same combination which occurs in _fore_, _fore-m-ost_, &c.

The m was the Anglo-Saxon sign of the superlative degree.

It is the m in the Latin words _pri-m-us_, _inti-m-us_, _exti-m-us_, _ulti-m-us_, &c.

It occurs even in the Gothic tongues; in other words, besides _for-m-a_.

In short, m is an old sign of the superlative degree; probably older than the usual form, -st, discussed in § 254. This has some important applications.

§ 256. _Former_.--This is a remarkable word: it is a comparative derived from the Anglo-Saxon superlative, and its analysis is _for-m-er_, with _excess of inflexion_.

§ 257. _Nea-r-est_.--Here the r is no part of the original root, as may be seen in § 251. It has grown out of -ah pronounced as the a in _father_. The true forms are positive, _neah_; comparative, _neah-er_; superlative, _neah-est_. Such, to a certain extent, is really the case.

§ 258. _Next_.--The superlative of _nigh_, contracted from _nigh-est_. The Anglo-Saxon forms were _neah_, _nyh-st_, _neh-st_, _nyh-ste_. In Anglo-Saxon the letter h was pronounced strongly, and sounded like g or k. This fact is still shown in the spelling; as nigh. In the word _next_ this sound is preserved, slightly changed into that of k; _next_ = _nek-st_.

§ 259. _Upmost_, &c.--The common statement concerning words like _upmost_ is, that they are compound words, formed by the addition of the word _most_: this, however, is more than doubtful.

The Anglo-Saxon language presents us with the following forms:--

_Anglo-Saxon._ _English._

Innema (inn-ema), Inmost (in-m-ost). Ûtema (ût-ma), Outmost (out-m-ost). Siðema (sið-ema), Latest. Lætema (læt-ema), Latest. Niðema (nið-ema), Nethermost (neth-er-m-ost). Forma (for-ma), Foremost (fore-m-ost). Æftema (aft-ema), Aftermost (aft-er-m-ost). Ufema (uf-ema), Upmost (up-m-ost). Hindema (hind-ema), Hindmost (hind-m-ost). Midema (mid-ema), Midmost (mid-m-ost).

Now the words in question show at once, that, as far as they are concerned, the m that appears in the last syllable of each has nothing to do with the word _most_.

From the words in question there was formed, in Anglo-Saxon, a regular superlative form in the usual manner; viz., by the addition of -st; as _æfte-m-est_, _fyr-m-est_, _læte-m-est_, _sið-m-est_, _yfe-m-est_, _ute-m-est_, _inne-m-est_.

Hence, in the present English, the different parts of the syllable _most_ (in words like _upmost_) come from different quarters. The m is the m in the Anglo-Saxon words _innema_, &c.; whilst the -st is the common sign of the superlative. Hence, in separating such words as _midmost_ into its component parts, we should write

Mid-m-ost _not_ mid-most. Ut-m-ost -- ut-most. Up-m-ost -- up-most. Fore-m-ost -- fore-most. In-m-ost -- in-most. Hind-m-ost -- hind-most. Out-m-ost -- out-most.

§ 260. In certain words, however, the syllable _m-ost_ is added to a word already ending in -er; that is, already marked with the sign of the comparative degree.

Neth-er-m-ost. Hind-er-m-ost. Utt-er-m-ost. Out-er-m-ost. Upp-er-m-ost. Inn-er-m-ost.

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