Vastest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The greatest extent or degree of something that is expansive or immense in comparison to others or to what is considered standard
2. The largest possible size or scope that surpasses all others in a continuous or extensive manner
3. The utmost level of extent or quantity that is broader and more significant than all others in a comparative sense

Etymology: "Vastest" is the superlative of "vast," so it simply takes the sense of "vast" to its extreme: the greatest extent of something immense. The adjective "vast" arrived in English from Middle French "vaste," which came from the Latin "vastus," meaning "void" or "immense." The Latin sense of emptiness survives in the idea of something so large it feels unbounded. The surprising link is with "waste." Both words descend from the same Latin root, and the sense of emptiness that gave rise to "vast" also shaped "waste," which once suggested land left desolate and unoccupied. German "Wüste," meaning "desert," belongs to the same family, so a vast space and a barren one were, at root, the same kind of place: an empty expanse.

Synonyms: largest, greatest

Antonyms: smallest, least