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alderliefest
Jan. 17th, 2024 07:39 amalderliefest (al-duhr-LEEF-est) - (arch.) adj., most beloved.
Often used as an epithet when addressing someone, as "alderliefest Elspeth." This was a coinage of the high middle ages, first attested in the 14th century, out of Old English roots: alder-, a superlative prefix for adjectives & adverbs (from the genitive plural of Old English all/eall, all) + lief, beloved/dear (from lēof, beloved/dear as an adjective) + -est, a superlative prefix for adjectives and adverbs (which is still used) -- so more literally, the double superlative "most dearest." This was still in use in Elizabethan times but as a self-consciously archaism.
---L.
Often used as an epithet when addressing someone, as "alderliefest Elspeth." This was a coinage of the high middle ages, first attested in the 14th century, out of Old English roots: alder-, a superlative prefix for adjectives & adverbs (from the genitive plural of Old English all/eall, all) + lief, beloved/dear (from lēof, beloved/dear as an adjective) + -est, a superlative prefix for adjectives and adverbs (which is still used) -- so more literally, the double superlative "most dearest." This was still in use in Elizabethan times but as a self-consciously archaism.
---L.
