FIRST - Definition & Meaning for Kids
Meaning 1
Part of speech: Adverb
before anything else
Example: first we must consider the garter snake
📖 Fun Facts About First
- • First means coming before everyone or everything else.
Meaning 2
Part of speech: Adverb
the initial time
Example: when Felix first saw a garter snake
Meaning 3
Part of speech: Adjective
ranking above all others
Example: was first in her class; the foremost figure among marine artists; the top graduate
Meaning 4
Part of speech: Adjective
highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections
Example: first soprano; the first violin section; played first horn
Meaning 5
Part of speech: Adverb
before another in time, space, or importance
Example: I was here first; let's do this job first
Synonyms
Number one, Number 1, First-class honours degree, First off, Get-go
Antonyms
🌱 Word Origin (Etymology)
The word "first" comes from Proto-Indo-European *pres-. It started in Proto-Germanic *frestaz. Then it appeared in Old English fyrst. Later, people used it in Middle English first. After that, it was Proto-Indo-European *per-. Over time, it became Proto-Germanic *fur. Finally, it reached Proto-Germanic *furistaz. It started in Old English fyrest. Then it appeared in Middle English first. Many other languages have similar words:.
- North Frisian: foarste
- Dutch: voorste
- German: Fürst
- Swedish: först
- Norwegian Nynorsk: fyrst
- Icelandic: fyrstur
- North Frisian: ferst
- German: Frist
- Swedish: frist
- Icelandic: frestur
🔗 Related Words
fore – A related word in the same word family.
est – A related word in the same word family.
frist – A related word in the same word family.
🧩 Fun Fact
Words that pass through many languages often accumulate layers of meaning from each culture.