first
Noun · Adjective · AdverbOpen English WordNet
Adjective (5)
- preceding all others in time or space or degree“the first house on the right”“the first day of spring”“his first political race”“her first baby”“the first time”“the first meetings of the new party”“the first phase of his training”Synonyms: 1stSimilar initial, original, premier, prime, firstborn, archetypal, ordinal, basic +1 moreSee also front, early, original, primary
- serving to begin“the beginning canto of the poem”“the first verse”Synonyms: beginningOpposite closingSimilar opening
- serving to set in motion“the magazine's inaugural issue”“the initiative phase in the negotiations”“an initiatory step toward a treaty”“his first (or maiden) speech in Congress”“the liner's maiden voyage”Synonyms: inauguralinitiativeinitiatorymaidenOpposite closingSimilar opening
- ranking above all others“was first in her class”“the foremost figure among marine artists”Synonyms: foremostworld-classOpposite worstSimilar best
- highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections“first soprano”“the first violin section”“played first horn”Opposite second
Adverb (4)
- before anything else“first we must consider the garter snake”Synonyms: firstlyforemostfirst of allfirst off
- the initial time“when Felix first saw a garter snake”
- before another in time, space, or importance“I was here first”“let's do this job first”
- prominently forward“he put his best foot foremost”Synonyms: foremost
Noun (6)firsts
- the first or highest in an ordering or series“He wanted to be the first”Synonyms: number oneType of rankKinds former
- the first element in a countable series“the first of the month”Synonyms: number onenumber 1Type of ordinal number, ordinal
- the time at which something is supposed to begin“they got an early start”“she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her”Synonyms: beginningcommencementoutsetget-gostartkickoffstarting timeshowtimeoffsetType of point, point in timeKinds threshold, birth, incipiency, terminus a quo
- the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first of the bases in the infield (counting counterclockwise from home plate)Synonyms: first baseType of positionMember of baseball team
- an honours degree of the highest classSynonyms: first-class honours degreeType of honours, honours degreeKinds double first
- the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car movingSynonyms: first gearlow gearlowType of gear, gear mechanismPart of car, auto
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Adjective numeral first
- Spanish
- primero
- French
- premier
- German
- erste
- Italian
- primo
- Portuguese
- primeiro
- Turkish
- birinci
- Russian
- пе́рвый pérvyj
- Arabic
- أَوَّل ʔawwal
- Chinese
- 第一 dìyī
- Japanese
- 一番目 ichiban-me
36 more languages
- Dutch
- eerste
- Polish
- pierwszy
- Swedish
- första
- Greek
- πρώτος prótos
- Korean
- 첫째 cheotjjae
- Indonesian
- pertama
- Vietnamese
- thứ nhất
- Hungarian
- első
- Portuguese (PT)
- primeiro
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 第一 dìyī
- Albanian
- i parë
- Breton
- kentañ
- Catalan
- primer
- Corsican
- primu
- Czech
- první
- Danish
- første
- Esperanto
- unua
- Estonian
- esimene
- Finnish
- ensimmäinen
- Georgian
- პირველი ṗirveli
- Hebrew
- רִאשׁוֹן rishón
- Icelandic
- fyrsti
- Kurdish
- yekem
- Latvian
- pirmais
- Lithuanian
- pirmas
- Malagasy
- voalohany
- Norwegian
- første
- Romanian
- primul
- Scottish Gaelic
- a' chiad
- Serbo-Croatian
- prvi
- Slovak
- prvý
- Slovenian
- prvi
- Swahili
- -a kwanza
- Walloon
- prumî
- Welsh
- cyntaf
- Yiddish
- ערשט ersht
Adverb before anything else
- Spanish
- primero
- French
- d'abord
- German
- zuerst
- Italian
- prima
- Portuguese
- primeiro
- Turkish
- önce
- Russian
- снача́ла snačála
- Arabic
- أَوَّلاً ʔawwalan
- Chinese
- 先 xiān
- Japanese
- 先ず mazu
22 more languages
- Dutch
- eerst
- Polish
- najpierw
- Swedish
- först
- Greek
- πρώτα próta
- Korean
- 우선 useon
- Vietnamese
- trước tiên
- Hungarian
- először
- Portuguese (PT)
- primeiro
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 先 xiān
- Catalan
- primer
- Czech
- zaprvé
- Danish
- først
- Esperanto
- unue
- Finnish
- ensiksi
- Georgian
- ჯერ jer
- Hebrew
- קודם כל kodem kol
- Icelandic
- fyrst
- Lithuanian
- pirma
- Norwegian
- først
- Romanian
- întâi
- Scottish Gaelic
- an toiseach
- Yiddish
- פֿריִער frier
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. first, furst, AS. fyrst; akin to Icel. fyrstr, Sw. & Dan. förste, OHG. furist, G. fürst prince; a superlatiye form of E. for, fore. See For, Fore, and cf. Formeer, Foremost.
1. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest; as, the first day of a month; the first year of a reign.
2. Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others.
3. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest; as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.
At first blush. See under Blush. — At first hand, from the first or original source; without the intervention of any agent.
It is the intention of the person to reveal it at first hand, by way of mouth, to yourself.— Charles Dickens
— First coat Plastering, the solid foundation of coarse stuff, on which the rest is placed; it is thick, and crossed with lines, so as to give a bond for the next coat. — First day, Sunday; — so called by the Friends. — First floor. (a) The ground floor. U.S. (b) The floor next above the ground floor. British — First fruit or First fruits. (a) The fruits of the season earliest gathered. (b) Feudal Law One year's profits of lands belonging to the king on the death of a tenant who held directly from him. (c) Eng. Eccl. Law The first year's whole profits of a benefice or spiritual living. (d) The earliest effects or results.
See, Father, what first fruits on earth are sprung From thy implanted grace in man!— John Milton
— First mate, an officer in a merchant vessel next in rank to the captain. — First name, same as Christian name. See under Name, noun — First officer Nautical, in the merchant service, same as First mate (above). — First sergeant Military, the ranking non-commissioned officer in a company; the orderly sergeant. Farrow, Edward S. — First watch Nautical, the watch from eight to twelve at midnight; also, the men on duty during that time. — First water, the highest quality or purest luster; — said of gems, especially of diamond and pearls.
Synonyms: Primary; primordial; primitive; primeval; pristine; highest; chief; principal; foremost.
Before any other person or thing in time, space, rank, etc.; — much used in composition with adjectives and participles.
Adam was first formed, then Eve.— 1 Tim. ii. 13.
At first, At the first, at the beginning or origin. — First or last, at one time or another; at the beginning or end.
And all are fools and lovers first or last.— John Dryden
Music The upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; — so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a preëminence in the combined effect.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54