first

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Coming before all others in time, order, or position.

   The first house on the right is ours.

2. 2
   adv

   Before anything or anyone else.

   First, we need to wash our hands.

3. 3
   adv

   For the first time.

   I first met her when we were children.

4. 4
   noun

   The person or thing that comes before all others.

   The dog was the first to be adopted.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

First is an Old English word that goes back to an ancient root shared with Latin primus and Greek prōtos, both meaning “first.”

From Middle English first, furst, ferst, fyrst, from Old English fyrest, from Proto-West Germanic *furist, from Proto-Germanic *furistaz (“first, foremost”), superlative of Proto-Germanic *furai, *furi (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before”), from *per- (“before; first”), equivalent to fore + -est. Cognates Cognate with Scots first (“first”), Dutch voorste (“foremost, first”), vorst (“prince”), German Fürst (“chief, prince”, literally “first (born)”), Limburgish Vürsch (“prince”), Luxembourgish viischt (“anterior; forward”), Vilamovian fiyśt, fjəšt, fjyśt, fjyšt (“prince”), Dan…

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