najstarszych

Najstarszych is a Polish adjective form that functions as the genitive plural of the superlative najstarszy, which means "the oldest." It is not a standalone noun but a modifier that describes nouns in the genitive plural or masculine personal accusative plural. In general, najstarszych agrees with the noun it modifies in terms of case, number, and gender, with the genitive plural ending -ych being common across genders.

Usage and meaning: The form is used when the modified noun is in the genitive plural, or when referring to the oldest members or elements in a group in contexts that require the genitive. For example, najstarszych członków means "the oldest members," najstarszych kobiet means "the oldest women," and najstarszych miast means "the oldest cities." It conveys the sense of being the most advanced in age within a specified set.

Relation to other forms: Najstarszych belongs to a family of related forms built from the base adjective stary (old) with the superlative prefix naj- and the typical adjective endings. The positive form is stary, the comparative is starszy, and the feminine/neuter and plural endings vary by gender and case in other contexts (e.g., najstarsza for feminine singular nominative, najstarsze for neuter or feminine plural in some cases, and najstarsi for masculine personal nominative plural).

Etymology and scope: The element naj- signals the superlative, while -szy is part of the root adjective, resulting in a word that is used across different contexts to denote the set of the oldest items or people within a given collection when expressed in genitive plural.

See also: najstarszy, najmłodszy, starszy.