foremost

Etymology

From Old English formest, fyrmest (“earliest, first, most prominent”), from Proto-Germanic *frumistaz, from the locative stem *fur-, *fr- + the superlative suffix *-umistaz, stem ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pr-. The suffix *-umistaz was a compound suffix, created from the rarer comparative suffix *-umô (as in Old English fruma) + the regular superlative suffix *-istaz (English -est); *-umô in turn is from Proto-Indo-European *-mHo-.

Cognate with Old Frisian formest, Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌿𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (frumists). See for, first and Old English fruma for more. Partially cognate to primus, from Proto-Indo-European root *pr- + Latin superlative suffix -imus, from Proto-Indo-European *-mHo-.

A comparative former was back-formed analogically, leaving the m from *-umô in place. Later the Old English suffix complex -(u)m-est was conflated with the word most through folk etymology, so that the word is now interpreted as fore +‎ -most.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔː.məʊst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊst

Adjective

foremost (not comparable)

1. first, either in time or in space
2. of a higher rank or position; paramount
3. (nautical) closest to the bow

Adverb

foremost (not comparable)

1. in front
2. prominently forward