beste

See also: Beste and bəstə

Basque

Etymology

From Proto-Basque *bertze, possibly from the root *beR-. Compare berri (“new”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bes̺te/ [bes̺.t̪e]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -es̺te
• Hyphenation: bes‧te

Determiner

beste (preposed)

1. other

Derived terms

• beste barik
• beste bat arte
• beste batean
• beste behin
• beste hainbat
• beste hainbeste
• beste honenbeste
• beste horrenbeste
• beste kuku batek jo
• beste mundu
• beste munduko (“extraordinary”)
• beste munduko gauza
• beste oilar batek kukurruku jo
• beste orduz
• bestea (“the other one”, pronoun)
• besteak beste
• besteetan
• bestela (“otherwise”)
• bestela baitakoan
• bestela bezala
• bestela esan
• bestela esanda
• bestela esateko
• bestelako (“different”)
• bestelakotasun
• bestelakotu
• bestelakotze
• bestelan
• bestelaz
• bestenaz
• bestengusina (“younger female cousin”)
• bestengusu (“younger male cousin”)
• bestera
• besterako
• besteratu
• besterendu
• besterenganatu
• besterentzaile
• besterentze
• besterik ezean
• besterik ezinean
• besterik izan
• bestetar
• bestetara
• bestetaratu
• bestetasun
• bestetik (“on the other hand”)
• bestetxo
• bestetzuk

 

Further reading

• “beste”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
• “beste”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of best, the superlative degree of goed:
   1. masculine/feminine singular attributive
   2. definite neuter singular attributive
   3. plural attributive

Anagrams

• beest

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of gut:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular superlative degree
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural superlative degree
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular superlative degree
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular superlative degree

Middle Dutch

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of best:
   1. masculine nominative singular
   2. feminine/neuter nominative/accusative singular
   3. nominative/accusative plural

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English betst, betest, from Proto-West Germanic *batist, from Proto-Germanic *batistaz (adjective), *batist (adverb).

Alternative forms

• (early ME) betst, bettst, bezst
• best

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛst/

Adjective

beste

1. best; superlative degree of good

Descendants

• English: best
• Scots: best

References

• “best, adj. (sup.).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-17.

Adverb

beste

1. best; superlative degree of wel

Descendants

• English: best
• Scots: best

References

• “best, adv. (sup.).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-17.

Etymology 2

Noun

beste

1. Alternative form of beeste

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French beste, from Latin bēstia.

Noun

beste f (plural bestes)

1. beast, animal

Descendants

• French: bête, b*t* (censored)
  • Haitian Creole: bèt
  • → Dutch: bête
  • → Swedish: bet

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈpeːsːte/

Verb

bēste

1. inflection of beastit:
   1. first-person dual present indicative
   2. third-person plural past indicative

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

beste

1. inflection of god:
   1. definite singular superlative degree
   2. plural superlative degree
2. inflection of bra:
   1. definite singular superlative degree
   2. plural superlative degree

Noun

beste n

1. the best

Derived terms

• bestefar
• bestemor
• bestevenn
• bestevenninne
• det beste fra to verdener

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Definite singular and plural of best.

Adjective

beste

1. definite singular of best
   1. superlative degree definite singular of god
   2. superlative degree definite singular of bra
2. plural of best
   1. superlative degree plural of god
   2. superlative degree plural of bra

Derived terms

• bestefar
• bestemor
• besteven, bestevenn
• besteveninne, bestevenninne

Etymology 2

A clipping of bestefar m (“grandfather”) and bestemor f (“grandmother”). The first part also being from best (“best”).

Noun

beste m (definite singular besten, indefinite plural bestar, definite plural bestane)

1. granddad

Noun

beste f (definite singular besta, indefinite plural bester, definite plural bestene)

1. grandma

Etymology 3

A nominal use of Etymology 1.

Noun

beste n

1. best

Etymology 4

From Middle Low German basten, besten.

Alternative forms

• besta (a-infinitive)

Verb

beste (present tense bestar or bester, past tense besta or beste, supine and past participle besta or best, present participle bestande, imperative best)

1. to sew loosely, to sew together using only a few stitches

Related terms

• baste

Old French

Etymology

Probably a semi-learned term borrowed partly from Latin bēstia. Compare bisse (modern French biche), which was popularly inherited from a variant (bīstia) of the same word. An alternative hypothesis derives beste from an unattested Vulgar Latin variant form *bēsta (deduced through a supposed diminutive form bēstula), though this is unlikely as it would assume there was a second popular variant of bēstia (bīstia being well attested).

Noun

beste oblique singular, f (oblique plural bestes, nominative singular beste, nominative plural bestes)

1. beast, animal

Descendants

• Middle French: beste
  • French: bête
• Gallo: bestt
• Norman: baête (Cotentin), beyte (Pays de Caux, Pays de Rouen), beet (Sark)
• → Middle Dutch: beest
  • Dutch: beest
    • Afrikaans: bees
    • Jersey Dutch: bêst, beîśe
    • Negerhollands: beest
    • → Papiamentu: bichi
    • → Sranan Tongo: beist
  • → Middle Low German: best
    • Low German: Beest
    • → Danish: bæst
    • → German: Biest
    • → Norwegian:
      • Norwegian Bokmål: beist, best
      • Norwegian Nynorsk: beist
    • → Swedish: best
• → Middle English: beeste, beste, beest, best, beast, beaste
  • English: beast
  • Scots: beast
  • Yola: beast

Portuguese

Verb

beste

1. inflection of bestar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative