Note 1: Etymologically from elements 大 (shin - "great, large"), etymologically abstracted from proto-Japonic *shinku "grow", 季 (chi, -ji) "time, era, period, season", either originally meaning "season of growing" or "great season" (perhaps for its internal cultural significance).
Note 2: The superlative form derives from Proto-Japonic *sa, an exclamatory and nominalised adjectival form, reinterpreted as an emphatic adjective ending to which regular conjugational morphemes were appended.
Note 3: Probably etymologically connected with the Proto-Japonic element *ki, possibly originally meaning "past", or else shortened or abstracted from *to2ki "time"
Note 4: Represents a more conservative pronunciation; historic [ɐ̞i] has shifted to [ɛi] or merged with [e̞ː] in many varieties.