ultimate English · revision 4744

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1654|origins=la ultimus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈʌl.tɪ.mət/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|ultimātus|t=completed, last, final]], the past participle of ultimāre “to come to an end, be last”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from Latin ultimus “last, final, farthest”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the superlative of *ulter “beyond”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*h₂el-|alt=*al-|t=beyond]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[ultimatum]], [[ulterior]], [[penultimate]] and [[ultra]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of aims or designs, lying beyond all others, forming the final object: 1654 in the OED and Barnhart, in the writings of Jeremy Taylor;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the 1650s in Etymonline, in theology, as in ''ultimate purpose''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Coming at the end of a process or series is from 1660,^(OED 1989) and beyond which no analysis can go, fundamental, from 1659.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The Century Dictionary contrasted it with final: an ''ultimate cause'' is the original cause beyond which none can be traced, while a ''final cause'' is the end toward which action is directed.^(Etymonline) The noun, the final or fundamental point, is from 1681.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The sense “the best or most extreme of its kind”, as in ''the ultimate in luxury'', dates from the late 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021) In engineering, ''ultimate'' strength or load is the value at which something breaks (1858).^(OED 1989) ''Ultimate Frisbee'' is by 1972.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1654 – forming the final aim.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1659 – fundamental, beyond analysis.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660 – last in a process.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1681 – noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1858 – of strength, at the point of breaking.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1972 – ''ultimate Frisbee''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Last in a series or process; [[final]]: ''the ultimate goal''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Most basic or [[fundamental]]: ''the ultimate cause''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Greatest, best or most extreme of its kind.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''the ultimate'': the best or most extreme example of something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A basic fact or principle.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ultimateness]]

+ * [[ultimately]]

+ * [[subultimate]]

+ * [[antepenultimate]]

+ * [[penultimate]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ulterior]]

+ * [[ultimatum]]

+ * [[ultra]]

+ * [[ultra-]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}