-st

See also: Appendix:Variations of "st"

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English -st; see -est.

Suffix

-st

1. (archaic) Verb suffix for the second-person singular; Alternative form of -est.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:

     Thou com'st to use thy tongue.

Etymology 2

From the written form of first; see further etymology there.

Suffix

-st

1. Marks ordinals written in digits when the final term of the spelled number is "first"

   the 21st century

Coordinate terms

• -nd
• -rd
• -th

Translations

first

Danish: -e German: -st- (e.g. 1ste = erste) Japanese: 第 (ja) (だい, dai) Polish: -szy (pl) m Swedish: -a (sv)

Etymology 3

From -s +‎ -t of excrescent suffixes, with -s sometimes genitive.

Suffix

-st

1. Excrescent suffix (adding sound but largely not changing the meaning).

   ‎among + ‎-st → ‎amongst

   ‎mid + ‎-st → ‎midst

   ‎while + ‎-st → ‎whilst

Usage notes

When there is a shorter synonymous word (as in amongst/among), the form with -st is generally considered more formal, old-fashioned or affected in American English; whereas both are usually interchangeable in British English.

However, against is distinct in meaning from again, and midst is used in some contexts distinctly from mid.

Derived terms

• against
• alongst
• amongst
• beknownst
• midst
• unbeknownst
• whilst
• whomst

Anagrams

• t's, T&S, T's, ts, Ts, t.s, TS