Legkorábbi

Legkorábbi is a Hungarian superlative adjective meaning the earliest or the most prior in time. It denotes the earliest occurrence or point within a group or sequence, and it is used to mark the foremost position in time rather than the most important.

Formation and meaning: legkorábbi is formed by adding the standard Hungarian superlative prefix leg- to the comparative form korábbi, which itself derives from korai (early). The word is written as a single unit, legkorábbi, and it agrees with the noun it modifies in number and case, just like other adjectives in Hungarian.

Usage: Legkorábbi is used both attributively and predicatively. For example, a legkorábbi dátum means the earliest date, a legkorábbi nap means the earliest day, and a event can be described as kezdődött a legkorábbi időpontban (started at the earliest time point). In comparative contexts, it emphasizes the utmost degree of being early within a set, not merely being earlier than one other item.

Context and nuance: The term is common in historical, archival, chronological, and scheduling contexts. It contrasts with legkésőbb (the latest) and with korábbi (earlier), where korábbi refers to a relative position, and legkorábbi expresses the maximum degree of early within a defined group.

Related forms: Korai is the base meaning early; korábbi is the comparative form; legkorábbi is the superlative form. The prefix leg- is a standard way to form superlatives in Hungarian.