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
Xavier	ZAY-vee-ər (English), ZAY-vyər (English), ig-ZAY-vee-ər (English), za-VYE (French), sha-VYER (Portuguese)	English, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish (Archaic)
MelÁNie	-	Czech
Chifuniro	-	Southern African, Chewa
Romolo	RO-mo-lo	Italian
Flavianus	-	Ancient Roman
DanÍEl	-	Icelandic