Online Etymology Dictionary

superlative (adj.): late 14c., from O.Fr. superlatif (13c.), from L.L. superlativus "exaggerated, superlative," from L. superlatus "exaggerated" (used as pp. of superferre "carry over or beyond"), from super "beyond" (see super-) + lat- "carry," from *tlat-, pp. stem of tollere "to take away" (see extol). The noun is attested from 1530, originally in the grammatical sense.
bestest: jocular emphatic superlative of best (which is itself a superlative), attested from 1868.
former: "earlier in time," c.1160, comparative of forme "first," patterned on formest "foremost" (see foremost). An unusual case of a comparative formed from a superlative (the -m- is a superlative element; the word was formed on the analogy of foremost).
extraordinaire: 1940, from Fr., lit. “extraordinary,” but used colloquially as a superlative.
extreme (adj.): mid-15c., from L. extremus "outermost, utmost," superlative of exterus (see exterior). In English as in Latin, not always felt as a superlative, hence more extreme, most extreme (which were condemned by Johnson). The noun is first recorded 1540s, originally of the end of life, cf. Latin in extremis. Extreme unction preserves the sense of “last, latest” (15c.). As a noun, c.1600, in in the extreme, etc. Extremes “opposite ends of anything” is from 1550s.
most: O.E. mast "greatest number, amount, extent," earlier mæst, from P.Gmc. *maistaz (cf. O.S. mest, O.N. mestr, Ger. meist, Goth. maists "most"), superlative form of P.Gmc. *maiz, root of O.E. ma, mara (see more). Used in O.E. as superl. of micel "great, large" (see mickle). Vowel influenced by more. Original sense of "greatest" survives in phrase for the most part (c.1400). Slang meaning "the best, extremely good" is attested from 1953. Related: Mostly. Double superlative mostest is 1885, from U.S. Southern and Black English.
best: O.E., reduced by assimilation of -t- from earlier O.E. betst "best, first, in the best manner," originally superlative of bot "remedy, reparation," the root word now only surviving in to boot (see boot (2)), though its comparative, better, and superlative, best, transferred to good (and in some cases well). From P.Gmc. root *bat-, with comp. *batizon and superl. *batistaz. The verb "to get the better of" is from 1863. Best-seller is from 1889; best friend was in Chaucer (late 14c.). Best girl is first attested 1887 in a Texas context; best man is 1814, originally Scottish, replacing groomsman.
first: O.E. fyrst "foremost," superlative of fore; from P.Gmc. *furisto (cf. O.H.G. furist, O.N. fyrstr, Dan. første, O.Fris. fersta, M.Du. vorste "first," Ger. Fürst "prince"), superlative of *fur-/*for-, from PIE *pro- (cf. Skt. pura "before, formerly;" see pro-). First-class (1858) "is from the universities via the railways" [Weekley]; first-rate (1660s) is from classes of warships in the British navy. First aid is that given at the scene, pending the arrival of a doctor; firsthand (also first-hand, first hand) is attested from 1690s. First Lady as an informal title for the wife of a U.S. president was in use by 1908, short for First lady of the land.
baddest: obs. superlative of bad (q.v.), common 14c.-18c.
humdinger: 1905, Amer.Eng., originally used of beautiful women; probably from dinger, early 19c. slang word for anything superlative.
utmost: O.E. utmest (Anglian) "outermost," double superlative of ut "out."
damnedest: also damndest, originally damnedst 1830, superlative of damned (see damn).
optimum: 1879, from L. optimum, neut. sing. of optimus "best" (used as a superl. of bonus "good"), probably related to ops "power, resources" (in which case the evolution is from "richest" to "the most esteemed") or to ob "in front of," with superlative suffix *-tumos. Originally in biology, in ref. to "conditions most favorable" (for growth, etc.).
least: O.E. læst, earlier læsest "smallest" (superlative of læs "smaller, less"), from P.Gmc. *laisistaz. Qualifying phrase at least is M.E. æt læstan. Colloquial leastways (1825), regarded as vulgar is simply a one-word form of Chaucer's leest weye (late 14c.).
approximate (adj.): 1640s, from L. approximatus, pp. of approximare "to come near to," from ad- "to" + proximare "come near," from proximus "nearest," superlative of prope "near." The verb is 1650s, from the adjective. Related: Approximately (1845).
posthumous: 1608, "born after the death of the originator" (author or father), from L.L. posthumus, from L. postumus "last, last-born," superlative of posterus "coming after, subsequent." Altered in L.L. by association with L. humare "to bury," suggesting death; the one born after the father's death obviously being the last.
proximity: 1480, from M.Fr. proximité "nearness" (14c.), from L. proximitatem (nom. proximitas) "nearness, vicinity," from proximus "nearest," superlative of prope "near." Proximal is first recorded 1727.
rather: O.E. hraþor "more quickly, earlier, sooner," also "more readily," comparative of hraþe, hræþe "quickly," related to hræð "quick," from P.Gmc. *khrathuz (cf. O.N. hraðr, O.H.G. hrad). The base form rathe was obsolete by 18c. except in poetry; superlative rathest fell from use by 17c. Meaning "more willingly" is recorded from c.1300; sense of "more truly" is attested from c.1380.
ding: 1819, "to sound as metal when struck," possibly abstracted from ding-dong (1659), of imitative origin. The verb meaning "to deal heavy blows" is c.1300, probably from O.N. dengja "to hammer." Meaning "dent" is 1960s. Dinger "something superlative" (e.g. humdinger) is from 1809, Amer.Eng. Ding-a-ling "one who is crazy" is 1935, from notion of hearing bells in the head.
ultimate: 1654, from L.L. ultimatus, pp. of ultimare "to be final, come to an end," from ultimus "last, final," superlative of *ulter "beyond" (see ultra). Ultimate Frisbee is attested from 1972.
bravo: as a cheer, "well done!," 1761, from It., lit. "brave" (see brave). Earlier it was used as a noun meaning "desperado, hired killer" (1590s). Superlative form is bravissimo.
"It is held by some philologists that as "Bravo!" is an exclamation its form should not change, but remain bravo under all circumstances. Nevertheless "bravo" is usually applied to a male, "brava" to a female artist, and "bravi" to two or more." ["Elson's Music Dictionary," 1905]
worst: O.E. wyrresta, from P.Gmc. *wers-ista- (cf. O.S. wirsista, O.N. verstr, O.Fris. wersta, O.H.G. wirsisto), superlative of PIE *wers- "to confuse, mix up" (see worse). The verb meaning "damage, inflict loss upon" is first recorded c.1600, from the adj. Phrase in the worst way (1839) is from Amer.Eng. sense of "most severely."
juxtaposition: 1660s, coined in Fr. 17c. from L. juxta "beside, near" + Fr. position (see position (n.)). Latin juxta is a contraction of *jugista (adv.), superlative of adj. *jugos "closely connected," from stem of jugum "yoke," from jungere "to join" (see jugular).
general (adj.): c.1300 (implied in generally), from L. generalis "relating to all, of a whole class" (contrasted with specialis), from genus (gen. generis) "stock, kind" (see genus). Noun sense of "commander of an army" is 1576 shortening of captain general, from M.Fr. capitaine général. The title generalissimo (1621) is from It., superlative of generale, from a sense development similar to the Fr.
supreme: 1523, from M.Fr. suprême, from L. supremus "highest," superlative of superus "situated above," from super "above" (see super-). Supreme Being first attested 1699; Supreme Court is from 1709. Supremacist is attested from 1959, originally with ref. to racial beliefs.
aristocracy: 1560s, from M.Fr. aristocracie (Mod.Fr. aristocratie), from L.L. aristocratia, from Gk. aristokratia "government, rule of the best," from aristos "best" (originally "most fitting," from PIE *ar-isto-, superlative form of *ar- "to fit together") + kratos "rule, power" (see -cracy). At first in a literal sense; meaning "rule by a privileged class" (best-born or best-favored by fortune) is from 1570s and became paramount 17c. Hence, the meaning "patrician order" (1650s). In early use contrasted with monarchy; after French and American revolutions, with democracy.
next: O.E. niehsta, nyhsta (W.Saxon), nesta (Anglian) "nearest, closest," superl. of neah (W.Saxon), neh (Anglian) "nigh;" from P.Gmc. *nekh- "near" + superlative suffix *-istaz. Cognate with O.N. næstr, Du. naast "next," O.H.G. nahisto "neighbor," Ger. nächst "next." Nextdoor is attested from 1485. Phrase the next person "a typical person" is from 1857.
proto-: comb. form meaning "first," from Gk. proto-, comb. form of protos "first," superlative of pro "before."
bad: c.1200, a mystery word with no apparent relatives in other languages.* Possibly from O.E. derogatory term bæddel and its dim. bædling "effeminate man, hermaphrodite, pederast," probably related to bædan "to defile." Originally "defective, inferior;" sense of "evil, morally depraved" is first recorded c.1300. A rare word before 1400, and evil was more common in this sense until c.1700. Comparable words in the other I.E. languages tend to have grown from descriptions of specific qualities, such as "ugly," "defective," "weak," "faithless," "impudent," "crooked," "filthy" (e.g. Gk. kakos, probably from the word for "excrement;" Rus. plochoj, related to O.C.S. plachu "wavering, timid;" Pers. gast, O.Pers. gasta-, related to gand "stench;" Ger. schlecht, originally "level, straight, smooth," whence "simple, ordinary," then "bad"). Comparative and superlative forms badder, baddest were common 14c.-18c. and used as recently as Defoe (but not by Shakespeare), but yielded to comp. worse and superl. worst (which had belonged to evil and ill). In U.S. place names, sometimes translating native terms meaning "supernaturally dangerous." Ironic use as a word of approval is said to be at least since 1890s orally, originally in Black Eng., emerging in print 1928 in a jazz context. It might have emerged from the ambivalence of expressions like bad nigger, used as a term of reproach by whites, but among blacks sometimes representing one who stood up to injustice, but in the U.S. West bad man also had a certain ambivalence:
"These are the men who do most of the killing in frontier communities, yet it is a noteworthy fact that the men who are killed generally deserve their fate." [Farmer & Henley]
*Farsi has bad in more or less the same sense as the English word, but this is regarded by linguists as a coincidence. The forms of the words diverge as they are traced back in time (Farsi bad comes from M.Pers. vat), and such accidental convergences exist across many languages, given the vast number of words in each and the limited range of sounds humans can make to signify them. Among other coincidental matches with English are Korean mani "many," Chinese pei "pay," Nahuatl (Aztecan) huel "well," Maya hol "hole."