Palest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the least colour or brightness of all, such as the lightest shade of a hue or the most washed-out appearance
2. Showing the faintest tone or lowest level of colour, appearing almost white or extremely light in shade
3. Describing something with the most diminished hue or glow, lightest in tint among a group of comparable things

Etymology: "Palest" is the superlative of "pale," so its story is mostly the story of the adjective it modifies. "Pale" came into English through Old French "pale," which in turn descends from Latin "pallidus," meaning pallid or wan, a word built on Latin "palleō," to be pale. Those Latin roots trace back to a Proto-Indo-European base meaning to burn or to be pale-looking, a notion that fits the colour of someone frightened or ill. The superlative itself is formed simply by adding the English suffix "-est" to "pale," the same pattern that produces "whitest" or "tallest." Its meaning is therefore whatever is most pale: the lightest, least colourful, or most washed-out of a group of things being compared.

Synonyms: pallid, wan, ashen, pasty

Antonyms: ruddiest, ruddy, rosy, florid