geläufigste

Geläufigste is the superlative form of the German adjective geläufig, and it denotes the most familiar, widely used, or well-known item within a given set. It is used to indicate that among a group of terms, phrases, or practices, one stands out as the most common or easily understood.

Geläufig describes familiarity or broad acceptance in language use. The corresponding noun is Geläufigkeit, which refers to the degree of common usage or fluency of a term or expression. The term is neutral and can appear in linguistic analyses, style guides, or descriptive texts about language.

Usage and nuance: The geläufigste term in a field is the one most readers are expected to know; for example, in technical writing a term like "Benutzeroberfläche" might be described as geläufig in that domain. In everyday German, speakers may opt for simpler or more colloquial alternatives such as "am bekanntesten" or "am gebräuchlichsten," depending on register. Geläufigkeit can also be measured in corpora to compare how widely different expressions are used.

See also: gebräuchlich, üblich, gängig, geläufig, Geläufigkeit, Häufigkeit.