alderlievest

English

Adjective

alderlievest (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of alderliefest
   • 1842, William Shakespeare, “Second Part of King Henry VI.”, in J[ohn] Payne Collier, editor, The Works of William Shakespeare. The Text Formed from an Entirely New Collation of the Old Editions: with the Various Readings, Notes, a Life of the Poet, and a History of the Early English Stage., volume V, London: Whittaker & Co., act I., scene I., page 110:

     Great king of England, and my gracious lord, / The mutual conference that my mind hath had / By day, by night, waking, and in my dreams, / In courtly company, or at my beads, / With you mine alderlievest sovereign, / Makes me the bolder to salute my king / With ruder terms, such as my wit affords, / And over-joy of heart doth minister.

   • 1855 May 15, Mary Cowden Clarke, “Music among the Poets and Poetical Writers”, in The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, volume VII, number 145, page 6:

     “And at the corner in the yonder house / Heard I mine alderlievest lady dear / So womanly with voice melodious / Singen so well, so goodly and so clear, / That in my soul yet me thinketh I hear / The blissful sound; and in that yonder place / My lady first me took into her grace.”

   • 1869, James Wood Davidson, “Miss Nelly Marshall”, in The Living Writers of the South, New York, N.Y.: Carleton, […]; London: S. Low, Son, & Co., page 374:

     Thou hast been spared! Oh, joyful thought, beyond all joy to me! / Again my eager voice I raise,— / My alderlievest! My very own! And, kneeling near thee, / Henceforth I hymn my Maker’s praise!

   • 1870 October, W. H. Abney, “Collmead”, in Our Monthly. A Religious and Literary Magazine., volume II, Cincinnati: Sutton & Scott, stanza VI., page 267:

     “Alderlievest!”—Love flatters not! / In the green lemon-wood, / I saw you first. It matters not! / I saw you, loved you and forgot / To call you goddess. Good! / I deemed it no offense, / To task my mother-sense, / In making love to womanhood.

   • 1907, George Gascoigne, edited by John W[illiam] Cunliffe, The Posies (The Complete Works of George Gascoigne; volume I), Cambridge: at the University Press, page 354:

     And to mine Alderlievest Lorde I must endite / A wofull case, a chippe of sorie chaunce, / A tipe of heaven, a lively hew of hell, / A feare to fall, a hope of high advance, / A life, a death, a drearie tale to tell.