last

pronunciation

How to pronounce last in British English: UK [lɑːst] word uk audio image

How to pronounce last in American English: US [læst] word us audio image

Noun:

the temporal end; the concluding time
the last or lowest in an ordering or series
a person's dying act; the last thing a person can do
the time at which life ends; continuing until dead
a unit of weight equal to 4,000 pounds
a unit of capacity for grain equal to 80 bushels
the concluding parts of an event or occurrence
holding device shaped like a human foot that is used to fashion or repair shoes
Verb:

persist or be long; in time
continue to live; endure or last
Adjective:

immediately past
coming after all others in time or space or degree or being the only one remaining
occurring at or forming an end or termination
conclusive in a process or progression
most unlikely or unsuitable
occurring at the time of death
not to be altered or undone
lowest in rank or importance
highest in extent or degree
in accord with the most fashionable ideas or style
Adverb:

more recently than any other time
the item at the end

Word Origin

last: last: [OE] Modern English has three separate words last, two of which are related. The adjective, meaning ‘after all others’, originated in prehistoric Germanic as the superlative form of late; its modern Germanic relatives include German letzt and Dutch laatst. The verb last ‘continue’ goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *laistjan ‘follow a track’, which also produced modern German leisten ‘perform, afford’.This was derived from *laisti-, as was ultimately the noun last, which in Old English meant ‘footprint’ (‘shoemaker’s model foot’ is a secondary development). The general semantic thread ‘following a track’ can be traced back further via Germanic *lais- (a variant of which gave English learn) to Indo-European *leis- (source of Latin dēlīrāre, literally ‘deviate from a straight track’, from which English gets delirious [18]).=> delirious, late, learn

last (adj., adv.): "following all others," from Old English latost (adj.) and lætest (adv.), superlative of læt (see late). Cognate with Old Frisian lest, Dutch laatst, Old High German laggost, German letzt. Meaning "most recent" is from c. 1200. The noun, "last person or thing," is c. 1200, from the adjective. Last hurrah is from the title of Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel. Last word "final, definitive statement" is from 1650s. A dying person's last words so called by 1740. As an adjective, last-minute attested from 1913. Last-chance (adj.) is from 1962.

last (v.): "endure, go on existing," from Old English læstan "to continue, endure," earlier "accomplish, carry out," literally "to follow a track," from Proto-Germanic *laistjan "to follow a track" (cognates: Gothic laistjan "to follow," Old Frisian lasta "to fulfill, to pay (duties)," German leisten "to perform, achieve, afford"), from PIE *leis- (1) "track, furrow" (see learn). Related to last (n.), not to last (adj.). Related: Lasted; lasting.

last (n.): "shoemaker's block," from Old English læste, from last "track, footprint, trace," from Proto-Germanic *laist- (cognates: Old Norse leistr "the foot," Middle Dutch, Dutch leest "form, model, last," Old High German leist "track, footprint," German Leisten "last," Gothic laistjan "to follow," Old English læran "to teach"); see last (v.).