# -st
## English
### Etymology 1

From Middle English -st; see -est.

#### Suffix

-st
* (archaic) Verb suffix for the second-person singular; Alternative form of -est
** c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:Thou com'st to use thy tongue.

### Etymology 2

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

#### Suffix

-st
* Marks ordinals written in digits when the final term of the spelled number is "first"
    the 21st century

##### Coordinate terms

* -nd
* -rd
* -th

##### Translations
### Etymology 3

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

#### Suffix

-st
* Excrescent suffix (adding sound but largely not changing the meaning).
    ‎among + ‎-st → ‎amongst
    ‎mid + ‎-st → ‎midst
    ‎while + ‎-st → ‎whilst

##### Usage notes

When there is a shorter synonymous word (as in amongst/among), the form with -st is generally considered more formal, old-fashioned or affected in American English; whereas both are usually interchangeable in British English.
However, against is distinct in meaning from again, and midst is used in some contexts distinctly from mid.

##### Derived terms

* against
* alongst
* amongst
* beknownst
* midst
* unbeknownst
* whilst
* whomst

### Anagrams

* t's, T&S, T's, ts, Ts, t.s, TS

## Dutch
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *-þiz. The -s- is the result of a wrong segmentation of stem and suffix of a noun in cases where the stem of the noun ended with -s-. For example: a word like Dutch vorst (“frost”) could be interpreted as vors+t or as vor+st. This suffix existed already in Gothic (𐌰𐌽𐍃𐍄𐍃 (ansts), from *𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (*unnan)).

#### Suffix

-st f (plural -sten)
* appended to the stem of a verb, this suffix yields a verbal noun; it is similar in function to the Dutch suffix -ing

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

#### Suffix

-st
* appended to an adjective this suffix forms the superlative
    vreemd (“strange”) → vreemdst (“strangest”)

### References

* ↑ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 167

## Estonian
### Suffix

-st
* partitive singular of -ne

## Faroese
### Etymology

Old Norse -sk, reduced form of the reflexive pronoun sik (whence Faroese seg).

### Suffix

-st
* turns verbs into middle voice verbs

#### Derived terms

* minnast

## German
### Etymology 1

From Middle High German -est, from older -es through rebracketing in inverted forms like sizzes du → sizzestu → sizzest du (“do you sit”). Further from a merger of various Old High German conjugation suffixes, from Proto-Germanic, from Proto-Indo-European.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /st/ (standard)
* IPA: /t/ (alternatively after -sch-)
* IPA: /s/ (central-western Germany, chiefly informal)
* IPA: /ʃ/ (south-western Germany and Switzerland, chiefly informal)

#### Suffix

-st
* Verb suffix for the second-person singular.
    ‎lachen (“to laugh”) + ‎-st → ‎du lachst (“you laugh, thou laughest”)
    ‎spielen (“to play”) + ‎-st → ‎du spielst (“you play, thou playest”)

##### Usage notes

* In the present tense, the suffix becomes -t after s, ß, x, z: du schießt. After sch the spelling -t is standard only in Austria and South Tyrol, but the according pronunciation is common in most regions: du wäschst or wäscht.
* The suffix becomes -est after d, t: du wartest. However, strong verbs with a vowel change have -st: du rätst. In obsolete usage the form -est was employed more freely also after other sounds.
* In the strong past tense, -est is used after sibilants: du schossest. However, when the preceding vowel is long the form -t is possible alternatively: du aßest or aßt. After d, t the forms -est and -st are used in free variation: du rittest or rittst.

### Etymology 2

From Middle High German -est, from a merger of Old High German -ist and -ōst, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz and *-ōstaz.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /st/

#### Suffix

-st
* Forms superlatives of adjectives and adverbs, sometimes triggering umlaut.
    ‎klein (“small”) + ‎-st → ‎der kleinste (“the smallest”)
    ‎lang (“long”) + ‎-st → ‎der längste (“the longest”)
    ‎herzlich (“cordially”) + ‎-st → ‎am herzlichsten (“most cordially”)
    ‎schleunig (“speedily”) + ‎-st → ‎schleunigst (“straight away”)

##### Usage notes

* Attributive superlatives are declined like other adjectives. Predicative and adverbial superlatives generally take the particle am before them and are accordingly declined in the neuter dative singular. Some adjectives/adverbs also have basic forms in -st, but these are generally lexicalised.
* The suffix becomes -est after sibilants s, sch, ß, x, z and after d, t when the adjective has final stress: der kürzeste, weiteste (though der kürzte, weitste may be heard colloquially and the same is standard in der größte). When the last vowel is /ə/ or unstressed /ɪ/ the short form is used: der geeignetste, sympathischste. After other unstressed vowels both ways are possible: der elendeste or elendste.
* The forms -st and -est are also both possible after stressed final vowels and after consonant clusters (except those involving -r-). Thus: der neueste or neuste, der schlankeste or schlankste. The formal language prefers the long forms while the vernacular prefer the short ones.

##### Derived terms
## Hungarian
### Etymology

From -s (adjective-forming suffix) +‎ -t (locative suffix) in the Old Hungarian period. The adverbial sense of the locative suffix -t can be shown only in this -st morpheme.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ʃt]

### Suffix

-st
* (adverb-forming suffix) Forms an adverb of manner.

#### Usage notes

* (adverb-forming suffix) Variants:
    -st
    -est
       ‎öröm (“joy”) + ‎-est → ‎örömest (“with joy”)
* It is no longer productive and can be found only in a few adverbs: bízvást, egyenest, fogvást, folyvást, folyton-folyvást, homlokegyenest, képest, mármost, mihelyst, most, nézvést, oldalvást, óvást, örömest, rögvest, szemlátomást, üstöllést, valamelyest, vegyest.

#### Derived terms
### References

* ↑ -st in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
* ↑ Papp, Ferenc (ed.). A magyar nyelv szóvégmutató szótára (’Reverse-Alphabetized Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, p. 495.

## Icelandic
### Etymology

From Old Norse -sk, reduced form of the reflexive pronoun sik (whence Icelandic sig).

### Suffix

-st
* turns verbs into middle voice verbs

#### Derived terms

* berast
* biðjast
* bjóðast
* bregðast
* brjótast
* drepast
* elskast
* eyðast
* fást
* finnast
* gerast
* gleðjast
* haldast
* heilsast
* kveðjast
* kyssast
* látast
* leiðast
* líðast
* minnast
* segjast
* setjast
* sjást
* týnast
* tærast
* venjast
* virðast
* ætlast

#### See also

* Appendix:Icelandic middle voice verbs
* Category:Icelandic middle voice verbs

## Ingrian
### Etymology 1

Uncertain:
* Possibly identical to the elative marker (see below), exhibiting an archaic function of the elative, found also in archaic or dialectal Finnish -sta.
* Alternatively, from Proto-Finnic *-stik, reanalysed as identical to the elative marker after vowel reduction. In this case akin to Finnish -sti and Estonian -sti.

#### Pronunciation

* (Ala-Laukaa) IPA: /-stɑ/, [-s̠tɑ], /-stæ/, [-s̠tæ]
* (Soikkola) IPA: /-st/, [-ʃt]

#### Suffix

-st
* Used to form adverbs of manner from adjectives; -ly

##### Usage notes

* In the Soikkola dialect, may trigger vowel elongation of the preceding vowel.

##### Derived terms

* -staa

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Finnic *-sta. Cognates include Finnish -sta and Estonian -st.

#### Pronunciation

* (Ala-Laukaa) IPA: /-stɑ/, [-s̠tɑ], /-stæ/, [-s̠tæ]
* (Soikkola) IPA: /-st/, [-ʃt]

#### Suffix

-st
* Used to form the elative case; out of

##### Usage notes

* In the Soikkola dialect, may trigger vowel elongation of the preceding vowel.

##### Inflection
### References

* V. I. Junus (1936) Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 43

## Luxembourgish
### Etymology

From Middle High German -est, from Old High German -ist, -ōst, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz, *-ōstaz.
The expected form would be -scht as still in bescht (“best”) and meescht (“most”). The form -st is native in the northern third of Luxembourg and spread southwards, probably in part because the suffix is used in positions where /ʃ/ otherwise does not occur, and in part under the reinforcing influence of standard German.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /st/

### Suffix

-st
* Forms the superlative of adjectives; -est

## Middle Dutch
### Etymology

From Old Dutch -ist, -ost, from Proto-Germanic *-istaz, *-ōstaz.

### Suffix

-st
* Forms the superlative of adjectives; -est

#### Derived terms

See Category:Middle Dutch adjective superlative forms.

#### Related terms

* -er

#### Descendants

* Dutch: -st

## Old English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /st/

### Suffix

-st
* Used to form the second person singular present indicative of strong verbs and certain Class I weak verbs
    ‎drīfan (“to drive”) + ‎-st → ‎drīfst (“you/thou drive”)