aller-

aller-

1. 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.

The prefix is sometimes reduplicated, escalating the intensification.

• (obsolete) alder-

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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.lər/

• Audio:

  (file)

aller-

1. Intensifying prefix for superlatives: very; of them all

   Zijn allergrootste verdriet was dat zijn zoon de zaak niet wilde overnemen.

   The greatest of all his sorrows was that his son did not want to take over the business.

The prefix may be reduplicated, particularly in children's speech, escalating the intensification.

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-.

• IPA^(key): /alɐ/

• Audio:

  (file)

aller-

1. 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”)

   • 1988, Cornelia Funke, Igraine Ohnefurcht, page 84:

     Ich will aber mal die allerallerbeste Ritterin werden.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

The prefix is sometimes reduplicated, escalating the intensification.

• allerhand, allerhöchstens
• herzallerliebst