s strengthens the meaning of some root-heads, as:—

Melt,smelt.
Nip,snip.
Plunge,splunge.
Queeze,squeeze.

So, as an ending of the somely thing-name, it stretches its meaning from that of one to some ones, as a hand, hands—hands being more than a hand.

In the word-ending -st of black-est, the half-penning s freely forstrengthens black, and the dead-penning t seems to check its force, so that blackest means black strengthened, though not unboundedly so, but blackest of all the things taken with it.

-st has, I suppose, this meaning also as an ending of thing-names or time-words, as ‘to boast,’ the meaning of which is betokened by some other tongues to be to bow out much the breast or fore-body, the token of pride and boasting, as it is so often shown to our sight.

Bogan, to bow (Anglo-Saxon and Friesic), means ‘to boast.’

Friesic—‘Thi mâgy bogade uppa sinra snôdhed.’ (The mâgy boasted (bowed) on his cunning.)—Oera Linda Book.

‘Hia bogath ìmmer over geda êwa.’ (They boast (bow) ever over good laws.)—Oera Linda Book.