Freshest

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈfɹɛʃɪst/

Definitions

1. The quality of being newly created or gathered, representing the peak of freshness among items, and possessing the most up-to-date and pure attributes
2. The condition of recently sourced or obtained goods that stand out for their optimal freshness, along with being the most current and pristine in nature
3. Having been produced or acquired more recently than others, indicating superior freshness and quality ; marked by being the newest or most modern available

Etymology: Fresh, the root of "freshest," originally meant "pure, sweet" or "unflavoured" rather than "new." Its ancestor in Old English was "fersċ," and the same root gives German "frisch," French "frais," and Russian "présnyj," which still carries the sense of "sweet" or "unleavened." The word's sense of recently made or newly picked grew out of that older idea of something untainted by age or salt. The superlative "freshest" is the form to reach for when comparing several things by how recently they were produced. Its adjective root reached English in Middle English as "fressh" and has been used in its modern sense for centuries. A much later slang branch arrived in the United States around 1848, where "fresh" meant cheeky or impudent. That sense probably came from German "frech," which goes back to a Proto-Germanic word meaning "greedy" or "bold." The two meanings of "fresh" are therefore not the same word in origin, though they became tangled in English.

Synonyms: newest, latest, cleanest, crispest, purest

Antonyms: stale, oldest, worn, decayed, spoiled