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  ultimata ultimately  
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   The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.
 
ultimate
 
SYLLABICATION:ul·ti·mate
PRONUNCIATION:  lt-mt
ADJECTIVE:1. Being last in a series, process, or progression: “As the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution, the Supreme Court occupies a central place in our scheme of government” (Richard A. Epstein). 2. Fundamental; elemental: an ultimate truth. 3a. Of the greatest possible size or significance; maximum: Has the ultimate diamond been found? b. Representing or exhibiting the greatest possible development or sophistication: the ultimate bicycle. c. Utmost; extreme: the ultimate insult. 4. Being most distant or remote; farthest. See synonyms at last1. 5. Eventual: hoped for ultimate victory.
NOUN:1. The basic or fundamental fact, element, or principle. 2. The final point; the conclusion. 3. The greatest extreme; the maximum: actions that represented the ultimate in political expediency.
ETYMOLOGY:Latin ultimtus, past participle of ultimre, to come to an end, from ultimus, last, superlative of *ulter, on the other side. See al-1 in Appendix I.
 
 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS · INDEX · ILLUSTRATIONS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
  ultimata ultimately  
 
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