first
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
first
adv 1: before anything else; "first we must consider the garter
snake" [syn: {first}, {firstly}, {foremost}, {first of
all}, {first off}]
2: the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake" [syn:
{first}, {for the first time}]
3: before another in time, space, or importance; "I was here
first"; "let's do this job first"
4: prominently forward; "he put his best foot foremost" [syn:
{foremost}, {first}]
adj 1: 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" [ant: {last}]
2: indicating the beginning unit in a series [syn: {first},
{1st}]
3: 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" [syn: {inaugural},
{initiative}, {initiatory}, {first}, {maiden}]
4: serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the
first verse" [syn: {beginning(a)}, {first}]
5: ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the
foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate"
[syn: {first}, {foremost}, {world-class}]
6: highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or
instruments or orchestra sections; "first soprano"; "the
first violin section"; "played first horn" [ant: {second}]
n 1: the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted
to be the first" [syn: {first}, {number one}]
2: the first element in a countable series; "the first of the
month" [syn: {first}, {number one}, {number 1}]
3: 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" [syn: {beginning}, {commencement}, {first},
{outset}, {get-go}, {start}, {kickoff}, {starting time},
{showtime}, {offset}] [ant: {end}, {ending}, {middle}]
4: 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) [syn: {first base},
{first}]
5: an honours degree of the highest class [syn: {first}, {first-
class honours degree}]
6: the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor
vehicle; used to start a car moving [syn: {first gear},
{first}, {low gear}, {low}]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
First \First\ (f[~e]rst), a. [OE. first, furst, AS. fyrst; akin
to Icel. fyrstr, Sw. & Dan. f["o]rste, OHG. furist, G.
f["u]rst 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others.
[1913 Webster]
3. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest;
as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.
[1913 Webster]
{At first blush}. See under {Blush}.
{At first hand}, from the first or original source; without
the intervention of any agent.
[1913 Webster]
It is the intention of the person to reveal it at
first hand, by way of mouth, to yourself. --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. [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.
[1913 Webster]
See, Father, what first fruits on earth are
sprung
From thy implanted grace in man! --Milton.
{First mate}, an officer in a merchant vessel next in rank to
the captain.
{First name}, same as {Christian name}. See under {Name}, n.
{First officer} (Naut.), in the merchant service, same as
{First mate} (above).
{First sergeant} (Mil.), the ranking non-commissioned officer
in a company; the orderly sergeant. --Farrow.
{First watch} (Naut.), 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.
Syn: Primary; primordial; primitive; primeval; pristine;
highest; chief; principal; foremost.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
First \First\ (f[~e]rst), adv.
Before any other person or thing in time, space, rank, etc.;
-- much used in composition with adjectives and participles.
[1913 Webster]
Adam was first formed, then Eve. --1 Tim. ii.
13.
[1913 Webster]
{At first}, {At the first}, at the beginning or origin.
{First or last}, at one time or another; at the beginning or
end.
[1913 Webster]
And all are fools and lovers first or last.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
168 Moby Thesaurus words for "first":
ab initio, ab ovo, aborigine, ahead, alpha, antecedent, anterior,
anticipatory, arch, at first, at the start, banner, basic, before,
before everything, beforehand, beginning, blue ribbon, breaking-in,
by choice, by election, by vote, capital, cardinal, central,
champion, chief, chiefly, ci-devant, commencement, crowning,
dominant, earlier, earliest, early, elder, elementary, eminent,
essential, exordial, first and foremost, first blush, first glance,
first impression, first inning, first lap, first move, first place,
first round, first sight, first stage, first step, first thing,
firstly, focal, fore, foregoing, forehand, foremost, former,
forward, from the beginning, front, frontal, fundamental, gambit,
great, head, heading, headmost, hegemonic, highest, in advance,
in front, in preference, in the beginning, in the forefront,
in the foreground, in the front, in the lead, inaugural, inception,
initial, initially, initiative, initiatory, key, le premier pas,
leading, least, magisterial, maiden, main, mainly, master, measly,
older, oldest, opening, opening move, original, originally, outset,
outstanding, overruling, paramount, pioneer, precedent, preceding,
precessional, precurrent, precursory, predominant, preeminent,
preexistent, prefatory, preferably, preliminary, preludial,
prelusive, premier, preparatory, preponderant, prevailing,
prevenient, previous, primal, primarily, primary, prime,
primitiveness, primitivity, primo, primogenial, primordial,
principal, principally, prior, pristine, proemial, propaedeutic,
ranking, rather, rather than, ruling, senior, slight, slightest,
slim, smallest, sooner, sooner than, sovereign, star, start,
stellar, supereminent, supreme, to the fore, to the front,
topflight, trifling, triumph, trivial, up ahead, victory,
warming-up, win
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