first

Definition

Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.

Etymology

From Middle English first, furst, ferst, fyrst, from Old English fyrest, from Proto-West Germanic *furist, from Proto-Germanic *furistaz (“foremost, first”), superlative of Proto-Germanic *fur, *fura, *furi (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European *per-, *pero- (“forward, beyond, around”), equivalent to fore + -est. Cognate with North Frisian foarste (“first”), Dutch voorste (“foremost, first”), German Fürst (“chief, prince”, literally “first (born)”), Swedish först (“first”), Norwegian Nynorsk fyrst (“first”), Icelandic fyrstur (“first”). Other cognates include Sanskrit पूर्व (pūrva, “first”) and Russian первый (pervyj).

Example Sentences

• "Hancock was first to arrive."
• "The first day of September 2013 was a Sunday."
• "I was the first runner to reach the finish line, and won the race."

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