best part of something

Nearly all of something, the majority, as in The dentist was late; I waited for the best part of an hour. The adjective best here does not concern quality but quantity. [First half of 1500s] Also see better half, def. 1.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Evelyn	EV-ə-lin (English), EV-lin (English)	English, German
Cathal	KA-hal	Irish
Ella (2)	EL-ə (English), EL-lah (Finnish)	English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Lieke	LEE-kə	Dutch
Zenaida	-	Late Greek
Gwrtheyrn	-	Ancient Celtic