Summus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Used to denote something that is the highest or greatest in degree ; referring to the utmost or supreme level ; indicating the topmost rank or importance in a context
2. Describing that which stands above all others in status or magnitude ; designating the most elevated or superior position ; expressing the idea of being at the pinnacle or zenith
3. Signifying the utmost extent of excellence or authority ; highlighting the paramount or loftiest stage ; representing the most elevated or distinguished status

Etymology: "Summus" is the Latin superlative of "superus" ("upper, higher"), and it is the source of the English "sum" in words like "summit" and "sum" (in the sense of a total), though the link is a bit more layered than it looks. The Latin root behind it is "super," meaning "above," so the superlative "summus" literally means "highest of all" or "uppermost." Its positive form, "superus," gave rise to "superior," and the same root sits behind "supreme" and "super" itself. The English "summit" comes from Old French "somet," a diminutive of "som" ("top"), which descended from Latin "summum," the neuter form of "summus." Meanwhile "sum" as a total entered English from Old French "summe," from Latin "summa," the feminine form, which originally meant "the highest part" or "main point" before it came to mean the total of a calculation. So the idea of a total is really the idea of the top or the greatest amount, carried over from the same superlative.

Synonyms: highest, topmost, supreme, utmost, paramount

Antonyms: lowest, bottommost, inferior, least, minimal