First

How to spell first

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce first

What does first mean?

1. adjectiveComing before all others in time, order, or rank.

First in a sentence

• She came first in the race.

• This is my first time visiting Spain.

Where does first come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word comes from the Old English fyrst, which was the superlative of fore, meaning 'before' or 'in front'. In its earliest sense it literally meant 'foremost' or 'before all others', built from the same ancient root that gives us 'fore', 'former', and 'foremost'. The form is related to similar superlatives across the Germanic languages, such as Old Norse fyrstr and Old High German furist, the latter surviving in German as Fürst, a 'prince' or chief person. Over time the word settled into its modern double duty as both the ordinal number and a word for earliest in time or rank. The spelling kept the -st superlative ending while losing the older vowel, leaving the simple, familiar form used today.

How the word is built

• fir- (from Old English fyrst, superlative of fore: before/foremost)
• -st (superlative ending)