extremity

C1 Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ɪkˈstɹɛməti/ UK /ɪkˈstɹɛmɪti/ See IPA manual

Freq #42486

Meanings

1

noun
the greatest or utmost degree

The extremity of despair.
2

noun
The most extreme or furthest point of something.

[B]eſtowe your love on him, who, were it not to do you ſervice, would through the extremitie of love rather wiſh to die then live.
3

noun
An extreme measure.

The Fort on the Mount St. Catherine after a Month's Siege was reduc'd to ſuch Extremitys, that they who defended it were forc'd to treat about a Surrender: and Aug. 29. 'twas agreed between the Engliſh Commiſſioners, Edward Earl of Mortaigne, Thomas Earl of Salisbury, and Fitz-Hugh, and the French Commiſſioners, the Sieur Nobles Lieutenant of Guy de Bouteil, which the Sieurs De Buſſon and de Graville, in the Name of the Gariſon, that they would deliver up the Abby and Fortreſs of St. Catherine on the Thurſday following, on condition of having only their Lives ſpar'd.
4

noun
A hand or foot.

Guillain–Barré syndrome causes one to not be able to move one’s extremities.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the most extreme or... tip

Word family

Forms extremities

Derived forms extremital

Related forms extreme extremelyextremenessextremismextremist

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Man's extremity is God's opportunity

Etymology

From Middle English extremite, from Old French extremité, from Latin extrēmitātem (“extremity; border, perimeter; ending”), from extrēmīs (“furthest, extreme”) + -itās (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts (suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being); see extreme. Extrēmīs is derived from exter (“external, outward”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + -issimus (superlative suffix) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-is- (comparative suffix) + *-(t)m̥mo- (absolutive case suffix)).

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# extremity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈstɹɛməti/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈstɹɛmɪti/
**Frequency rank:** 42486

## Meanings
1. the greatest or utmost degree
2. The most extreme or furthest point of something.
3. An extreme measure.
4. A hand or foot.

## Examples
- The extremity of despair.
- [B]eſtowe your love on him, who, were it not to do you ſervice, would through the extremitie of love rather wiſh to die then live.
- The Fort on the Mount St. Catherine after a Month's Siege was reduc'd to ſuch Extremitys, that they who defended it were forc'd to treat about a Surrender: and Aug. 29. 'twas agreed between the Engliſh Commiſſioners, Edward Earl of Mortaigne, Thomas Earl of Salisbury, and Fitz-Hugh, and the French Commiſſioners, the Sieur Nobles Lieutenant of Guy de Bouteil, which the Sieurs De Buſſon and de Graville, in the Name of the Gariſon, that they would deliver up the Abby and Fortreſs of St. Catherine on the Thurſday following, on condition of having only their Lives ſpar'd.
- Guillain–Barré syndrome causes one to not be able to move one’s extremities.

## Derived Forms
- extremital

## Related Forms
- extreme
- extremely
- extremeness
- extremism
- extremist

## Etymology
From Middle English extremite, from Old French extremité, from Latin extrēmitātem (“extremity; border, perimeter; ending”), from extrēmīs (“furthest, extreme”) + -itās (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts (suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being); see extreme. Extrēmīs is derived from exter (“external, outward”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + -issimus (superlative suffix) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-is- (comparative suffix) + *-(t)m̥mo- (absolutive case suffix)).

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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