- almost
- almost: [OE] Almost is simply a combination of all and most. In Anglo-Saxon times, and up until the 17th century, it meant ‘mostly all’ or ‘nearly all’ (thus one could say ‘My best friends are almost men’, meaning most of them are men); but already by the 13th century the modern sense ‘nearly, not quite’ was well in place.
=> all, most - almost (adv.)
- Old English eallmæst "nearly all, for the most part," literally "mostly all;" see all + most. Modern form from 15c.