Coaliest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Containing the most coal or having the blackest, most coal-like appearance when compared with other things
2. Most closely resembling coal in color, texture, or composition among a group of similar objects or substances
3. Having the greatest amount of coal or the most soot-like, dusty blackness of anything being compared

Etymology: "Coaliest" is simply the superlative of "coaly," the form you reach by adding "-iest" to a word meaning "blackest like coal." The base word "coaly" is "coal" with the suffix "-y," which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "having the qualities of" or "full of" the thing named. So "coaly" describes something like coal, and "coaliest" is the most coal-like of a set of things. The comparison is with "colly," an older English word for something black with soot or coal dust, which shows the same root applied in a different form. Beyond that, the history is plain: a common noun plus a common adjective-forming suffix, with no notable coinage or shift in sense to report.

Synonyms: sooty, carbonaceous