Adjective: Superlatives

MorphologyAdjective – Superlatives

• Superlatives use either the suffix -τατος/η/ον or -ιστος/η/ον (besides πρῶτος ‘first’)
• Superlative adjectives in NT with -τατος: ἁγιώτατος, ἀκριβέστατος, τιμιώτατος
• Superlative adjectives in NT with -ιστος: μέγιστος, ἐλάχιστος, κράτιστος, πλεῖστος, ὕψιστος
• All endings are regular: 2nd declension for masc/neut and 1st declension for fem

fromLesson 49.3

SyntaxAdjective – Superlatives

Superlatives are ordinarily expressed in English with the suffix - est, as in Mount Everest is the tallest mountain. The basic function of - est is to indicate that the property referred to by the adjective is held by the referent of the noun to a degree higher than everything else being compared to it. In plain English, Mount Everest is higher on the scale of “tallness” than any other mountain being compared to it. A key part to this meaning is that superlatives, like comparatives (see 34.2.3.3), make reference to a set of things that are being compared to it. It might sound obvious to say that Mount Everest is the tallest mountain, but that is only because we regularly supply in the world in our understanding of the sentence. If we were to include other worlds, such as the other planets in our solar system, Mount Everest is the tallest mountain would be a false statement. The tallest mountain in the solar system is Olympus Mons on Mars at a height of 15.5 miles – about three times the size of Mount Everest!

In Greek, the set of things being compared to the superlative is often given explicitly in the context by a noun in the genitive after the adjective:

• (565) Superlative with genitive noun giving comparison set
• Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ ἐλάχιστος τῶν ἀποστόλων (1 Cor 15:9)

fromLesson 49.3