The spelling of "dost best" reflects the Early Modern English language style of the 17th century. In modern English, the phrase would be written as "do'st best." The word "do'st" is the contraction of "dost," an archaic form of the present tense of "do." The IPA phonetic transcription for "dost best" would be /dʌst bɛst/. Although it may seem confusing to modern readers, studying the evolution of language can provide insights into the cultural and historical contexts of different periods.
The phrase "dost best" does not have a defined etymology on its own as it is not a standalone word. However, it can be broken down into two separate words, "dost" and "best", each with their own etymology:
1. Dost: The word "dost" is the second person singular form of the verb "do" in archaic English. It comes from the Old English word "dōst" and is derived from the West Germanic word "duesti". This, in turn, originated from the Proto-Germanic word "duz", meaning "thou do".
2. Best: The word "best" is an adjective that means of the highest quality or standard. It comes from the Old English word "betest", which is the superlative form of "gōd" (meaning good).