hoogst

Hoogst is a Dutch word that primarily serves as the superlative form of the adjective hoog (high, tall) and as an adverb expressing the utmost degree. When used as an adjective before a noun, the common attributive superlative is hoogste, as in de hoogste berg or het hoogste punt. In predicative or adverbial position, hoogst is used to intensify or qualify the statement, often related to likelihood, necessity, or feasibility, for example het is hoogst waarschijnlijk or dat is hoogst mogelijk.

As an adverb, hoogst often precedes adjectives or participles to indicate the maximum degree, roughly equivalent to “most” or “extremely” in English. In many contexts, hoger serves as the comparative form (hoger means “higher”), while the superlative is expressed with hoogste or through the adverbial hoogst, depending on syntactic position.

Etymologically, hoogst is formed from hoog, meaning high, with the addition of the suffix -st to indicate the superlative or utmost degree. This mirrors a common Germanic pattern in which short, monosyllabic adjectives take -st to mark the superlative in certain uses, particularly in predicative or adverbial constructions.

In practice, hoogst contrasts with hoogste mainly in function: hoogste is typically used before a noun to denote the top or maximum in a definite sense, while hoogst is used in non-noun, descriptive, or evaluative contexts. The word is common in formal and written Dutch and appears in everyday language for emphasis or precision.

See also: hoog, hoogste, hoogtepunt.