letzte

Signification

last

Fréquence

Coupé comme

letz‧te

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/ˈlɛt͡stə/

Étymologie

From Middle High German lest, a contraction of lezzest, from Old High German lezzist (also lazzōst), itself superlative of laz (cognate to English late). The modern German form with -tz- is of northern origin; two separate origins have probably met in it: Firstly, there is a general tendency in some Central German dialects of inserting -t- before comparative and superlative endings. (Compare for this, for example, Ripuarian fröh → fröhter, fröhtste). Secondly, Middle Low German lest, contracted superlative of lat (“late”), had a regular or regularized variant letst, which is very rare in writing, but may have been more common in spoken dialects. (Compare modern German Low German lättst.) Related forms are Dutch laatst and lest, English latest and last, Luxembourgish lescht, Hunsrik letst.