Dungiest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Most similar to or full of animal manure in character or composition
2. Containing the greatest amount of dung or having the strongest dung-like quality
3. Most heavily soiled with or characteristic of feces and animal waste

Etymology: "Dungiest" is the superlative of "dungy", so it describes something that is most full of dung or most resembling it. The adjective "dungy" comes from Middle English "dongy", "donky" or "dungy", formed by adding the suffix "-y" to "dung". The suffix turns a noun into an adjective meaning "having the qualities of" or "full of" the noun, so "dungy" literally means something like "dung-like" or "dung-covered", and the superlative adds the familiar "-iest" ending that English uses for adjectives ending in "-y". The more surprising connection is to "dingy". Dictionaries treat "dungy" and "dingy" as probably doublets, meaning two forms descended from the same root that split apart and took on separate meanings in English. "Dingy", which now suggests drab, dirty or faded, shares that grimy sense, and the two words may have drifted from one shared origin in the way that "dungy" stayed closer to its literal link with dung.