Streakiest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. characterized by a series of alternating features or qualities over time
2. Displaying the greatest number of stripes or lines running along a surface
3. Marked with numerous long, narrow bands of contrasting color or texture more than any others

Etymology: "Streakiest" is the superlative of "streaky," which in turn is simply "streak" with the suffix "-y" added, meaning "having streaks." The adjective itself is a plain, transparent formation, so its interest lies mostly in the word it grows from. "Streak" descends from a Germanic root that also gave Old English "streca" and Middle English "streke," originally carrying the sense of a line or stroke, a mark drawn across a surface. Over the centuries the word came to describe any long, thin band of colour or a strip of something that differs from its surroundings, and later a run of a particular kind of luck or behaviour, which is how we now speak of a winning streak. The suffix "-y," traceable back to Old English "-ig," turns a noun into an adjective meaning "full of" or "marked by," so "streaky" describes something marked by streaks. Adding "-iest" then gives the superlative, pointing to the thing with the most streaks, or in the sense given here, the one most marked by a series of alternating qualities over time.

Synonyms: striped, banded

Antonyms: solid, uniform