aller-

== Danish == === Etymology === From Old Danish aldræ, from Old Norse allra. It is the old genitive plural of al, from Old Norse allr. Originally "of all" or "among all". === Prefix === aller- Intensifying prefix for superlatives: very; of them all Det er det allersørgeligste, jeg nogensinde har hørt. That is the very saddest thing I have ever heard. ==== Usage notes ==== The prefix is sometimes reduplicated, escalating the intensification. === References === “aller-” in Den Danske Ordbog “aller-” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog == Dutch == === Alternative forms === (obsolete) alder- === Etymology === From Middle Dutch aller-, alder-, the genitive plural of alle (“all”). The prefix thus literally translates to "of all", yielding adjectives such as allerergst (from ergst (“worst”)) which literally translates to "the worst of all". Words formed this way are thus originally univerbations, although they may not be recognized as such anymore in contemporary speech (and constructions such as het allerleukst can only exist in this form, and not in the uncombined form *het aller leukst, which is ungrammatical). Compare English alder-, German aller-, Old Norse allra. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɑ.lər/ === Prefix === aller- Intensifying prefix for superlatives: very; of them all ==== Usage notes ==== The prefix may be reduplicated, particularly in children's speech, escalating the intensification. ==== Derived terms ==== == German == === Etymology === From aller, the genitive form of alle (“all”), from Middle High German al, from Old High German al, from Proto-Germanic *allaz. Compare English all-, English alder-. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /alɐ/ === Prefix === aller- Intensifying prefix for superlatives: very; of them all ‎aller- + ‎erste (“first”) → ‎allererste (“very first”) ‎aller- + ‎größte Stadt (“the biggest city”) → ‎allergrößte Stadt (“the very biggest city / the biggest city of them all”) ‎aller- + ‎meist (“most”) → ‎allermeist (“almost all”) ‎aller- + ‎herzlichst (“most cordially”) → ‎allerherzlichst (literally “all-most-cordially”) ==== Usage notes ==== The prefix is sometimes reduplicated, escalating the intensification. ==== Derived terms ==== === See also === allerhand, allerhöchstens herzallerliebst