Etymograph

English

almost

Almost comes from Old English eallmǣst ‘nearly all, almost, for the most part’, from eall ‘all’ + mǣst ‘most’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *maiz ‘more’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂-1‘good’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maiz1‘more’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maistaz1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maist1‘most’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*maist1reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150mǣst1
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150eallmǣst1‘nearly all’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500almost1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1897almost1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English almost
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂-Wiktionary, English almost‘good’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maizWiktionary, English almost‘more’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maistazWiktionary, English almostreconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maistWiktionary, English almost‘most’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*maistWiktionary, English almostreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150mǣstWiktionary, English almost
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150eallmǣstWiktionary, English almost‘nearly all’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500almostWiktionary, English almost
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1897almostWiktionary, English almost. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he…”

Formed from al- ‘all’ + most

Proto-Germanic *maistaz ‘most, greatest (superlative of *mikilaz)’

Proto-West Germanic *maist

Old English mǣst ‘most, biggest’

Middle English most

English most

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- ‘good, great’

mature, maturity, mat, mistress, maturation, maduro, matinee, demure, matin, magisterial, 19 more

through Proto-Germanic *maiz ‘more, to a greater degree’

mo, 1 more

through Old English mǣst

mast, 1 more

Today it means

adv Very close to, but not quite.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “almost”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- / almost

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