Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
First
First
(fẽrst)
, Adj.
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 GreeceAt first blush
. See under
– Blush
. At first hand
, from the first or original source; without the intervention of any agent.
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.
[Eng.]
– 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.
Syn. – Primary; primordial; primitive; primeval; pristine; highest; chief; principal; foremost.
First
(fẽrst)
, adv.
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
. Dryden.
First
,Noun.
(Mus.)
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 1828 Edition
First
FIRST
,Adj.
1.
Advanced before or further than any other in progression; foremost in place; as the first man in a marching company or troop is the man that precedes all the rest. Hence,2.
Preceding all others in the order of time. Adam was the first man. Cain was the first murderer. Monday was the first day of January.3.
Preceding all others in numbers or a progressive series; the ordinal of one; as, 1 is the first number.4.
Preceding all others in rank, dignity or excellence. Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece. Burke was one of the first geniuses of his age. Give God the first place in your affections.FIRST
,adv.
1.
Before any thing else in the order of time.Adam was first formed, then Eve. 1Tim. 2.
2.
Before all others in place or progression.Let the officers enter the gate first.
3.
Before any thing else in order of proceeding or consideration. First, let us attend to the examination of the witnesses.4.
Before all others in rank. He stands or ranks first in public estimation.At first, at the first, as the beginning or origin.
First or last, at one time or another; at the beginning or end.
And all fools and lovers first or last.
Definition 2024
First
First
See also: first
English
Adjective
First (not comparable)
- Of or pertaining to the executive of a particular nation or state.
first
first
See also: First
English
Alternative forms
Adjective
first (not comparable)
- Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
- Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
- 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
- The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).
- The first day of September 2013 was a Sunday. I was the first runner to reach the finish line, and won the race.
-
- Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest.
- 1784: William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., PREFACE
- THE favourable reception the Orrery has met with from Perſons of the firſt diſtinction, and from Gentlemen and Ladies in general, has induced me to add to it ſeveral new improvements in order to give it a degree of Perfection; and diſtinguiſh it from others; which by Piracy, or Imitation, may be introduced to the Public.
- Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.
- 1784: William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., PREFACE
Alternative forms
Translations
numeral first
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Adverb
first (not comparable)
- Before anything else; firstly.
- Clean the sink first, before you even think of starting to cook.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.
- 2013 June 29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 29:
- Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia.
Translations
before anything else
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Noun
first (countable and uncountable, plural firsts)
- (uncountable) The person or thing in the first position.
- He was the first to complete the course.
- 1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations
- Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
- (uncountable) The first gear of an engine.
- (countable) Something that has never happened before; a new occurrence.
- This is a first. For once he has nothing to say.
- (countable, baseball) first base
- There was a close play at first.
- (countable, Britain, colloquial) A first-class honours degree.
- (countable, colloquial) A first-edition copy of some publication.
- A fraction of an integer ending in one.
- one forty-first of the estate
Translations
person or thing in the first position
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first gear — see first gear
new occurrence
baseball: first base — see first base
UK colloquial: first-class honours degree
Derived terms
Terms derived from the adjective, adverb, or noun first
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Related terms
Terms related to the adjective, adverb, or noun first
See also
Etymology 2
From Middle English first, furst, fyrst, from Old English fyrst, fierst, first (“period, space of time, time, respite, truce”), from Proto-Germanic *fristaz, *fristą (“date, appointed time”), from Proto-Indo-European *pres-, *per- (“forward, forth, over, beyond”). Cognate with North Frisian ferst, frest (“period, time”), German Frist (“period, deadline, term”), Swedish frist (“deadline, respite, reprieve, time-limit”), Icelandic frestur (“period”). See also frist.
Noun
first (plural firsts)