-íssimo

== Portuguese == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin -issimus. The borrowing occurred during the Renaissance influence from Italian. === Suffix === -íssimo (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -íssima, masculine plural -íssimos, feminine plural -íssimas) forms the absolute superlative ‎caro (“expensive”) + ‎-íssimo → ‎caríssimo (“extremely expensive”) ‎feio (“ugly”) + ‎-íssimo → ‎feiíssimo (“extremely ugly”) ==== Usage notes ==== Though both are called superlatives, Portuguese words suffixed with -íssimo are not equivalent to English words suffixed with -est or preceded by most. Instead, they are equivalent to using the adverbs very or extremely to qualify the adjective. The following ending(s) change(s) in words appended with this suffix: ⟨-ão⟩ (as a non-verb suffix, including plurals) → ⟨-on-⟩ ⟨-ã(o)⟩ (including plurals) → ⟨-(i)an-⟩, ⟨-am-⟩, or ⟨-(i)on-⟩, depending on the base word's etymology ⟨-m⟩ (including plurals) → ⟨-n-⟩ ⟨-vel⟩ (unstressed and adjectival, including plurals) → ⟨-bil-⟩ ⟨-z⟩ (adjectival, including plurals) → ⟨-c-⟩ Adjectives ending in the semivowel ⟨i⟩ followed by a vowel lose the semivowel in nonstandard usage: ‎feio (“ugly”) + ‎-íssimo → ‎feíssimo (proscribed) ‎feio (“ugly”) + ‎-íssimo → ‎feiíssimo (prescriptive) Some words may loan their superlative from Latin in addition to forming one with this suffix: paupérrimo (from Latin pauperrimus) coexists with pobríssimo as superlatives of pobre Colloquially, the syllable ⟨ssi⟩ may be repeated a number of times for emphasis: ‎grande (“big”) + ‎-issíssimo → ‎grandissíssimo (“very very big”) ==== Derived terms ==== === References === === Further reading === “-íssimo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “-íssimo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026