verbreitertsten

Verbreitertsten is not a standard dictionary entry in contemporary German. It is sometimes encountered as a rare or nonstandard inflected form related to the participle or adjective derived from verbreiten (to spread). In everyday and formal writing, German speakers generally express the idea of “most widely spread” with established constructions rather than this form. The usual, recommended forms are am weitesten verbreitet (the most widely spread) or die am weitesten verbreiteten (the ones that are most widely spread), depending on number and gender of the noun.

Usage and guidance

Standard German prefers the periphrastic superlative am weitesten verbreitet for predicative use, and the attributive form die am weitesten verbreiteten … or die weitesten verbreiteten … for plural nouns, depending on declension. The form verbreitertsten, verfreitertsten (and similar) are generally avoided in formal contexts because they sound nonstandard or archaic to many speakers. Learners are advised to use am weitesten verbreitet or die am weitesten verbreiteten, rather than attempting to employ verbreitertsten as a neutral substitute.

Linguistic note

The root verb verbreiten yields several related forms (verbreitet, verbreitete, am weitesten verbreitet). The appearance of verbreitertsten would come from a direct, nonstandard extension of the participle verbreitert or from an attempt to create a superlative with the suffix -sten in a context where the standard pattern is am weitesten verbreitet. Consequently, it is rarely if ever used in formal writing and lacks broad acceptance.

See also

verbreiten; weit verbreitet; am weitesten verbreitet; Verbreitung.