| 释义 |
▪ I. first, n. Obs. exc. dial. in comb.
Forms: 1 first, fyrst, 3 firste, south. virste.
[OE. fyrst str. fem. = OHG. first (MHG. virst, Ger. first):—*fersti-z; cf. the ablaut-var. Du., LG. vorst:—*fursti-z, of same meaning, which corresponds phonetically to Skr. pṛshṭí fem. rib; in sense it is nearer to the (prob. cognate) Skr. pṛshṭá back.]
The inward roof or ceiling of a chamber; also, a ridge-pole; = first-piece.
c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 126 Laquear, fyrst. c1275Death 155 in O.E. Misc. (1872) 179 Þe rof and þe virste schal ligge on þine chynne. 1378Durham Halm. Rolls (Surtees) 149 In manu Johannis fil. Gilberti x spars et j first, et in gardino præd. Thomæ sunt v ribs et firsts.
b. Comb., first-piece (Chesh. Gloss.), first-pole, (Shropsh. Wordbk.), the ridge piece of roof-timbers.
▪ II. first, a. (n.) and adv.|fɜːst|
Forms: 1 fyrst, fyrest, first, 2–6 fyrst, 3 Orm. firrst, south. vorst, 4 forst, 3–4 ferst, (3 feirst, ferest, -ist, south. verst), 3–5 firste, (3 fireste, -ist, south. virst), furst(e, 3–7 frist, (4 freste), 4–5 fryst, (6 fruist), 3– first.
[OE. fyrst, fyrest, OFris. ferost, -est, -st, OS. *furist, used absol. as furisto wk. masc., prince (MDu. vorste, mod.Du. vorst prince), OHG. furist foremost, first, highest, absol. furisto prince (MHG. vürste, mod.G. fürst n., prince), ON. fyrstr (Sw. första, Da. förste; the ns. Sw. furste, Da. fyrste, prince, are adapted from Ger.):—Com. Teut. *furisto-, a superlative formation on the stem *fur-, for- (see fore adv., for prep.). The corresponding comparative occurs in OHG. furiro, ON. fyrre, earlier. From the same stem, with different superlative suffix, is formed OE. forma first, whence the double superlative form fyrmest: see former, foremost.
The OTeut. fur-, for-, represents OAryan pr-, whence in most of the Aryan langs. words meaning ‘first’ are derived, chiefly with superlative suffixes. Cf. Skr. prathama, OSl. prĭvŭ, Gr. πρῶτος, πρώιστος, L. prīmus.]
A. adj. That is before all others; earliest in time or serial order, foremost in position, rank, or importance. Hence often serving the function of a numeral adjective, the ordinal of one, in which use it may be written 1st.
In Eng., as in most other langs., the number one has no regularly formed ordinal, and in OE. the want was supplied by the use of various superlative adjs. meaning ‘foremost’ or ‘earliest’, viz. fyrst, forma, fyrmest (also formest, Northumbrian forðmest) and ǽrest. In middle English the other words became obsolete, or lost their ordinal sense, so that first became the sole representative of the ordinal of one. This is now its most prominent use, and colours all the applications of the etymological sense; but the word can still be applied (like L. primus, F. premier, etc.) in contexts where a true ordinal would be inadmissible, as in ‘the first days of the year’, ‘one of the first men in the country’, etc.
I. As simple adjective.
1. a. In regard to time: Prior to all others in occurence, existence, etc.; happening, existing, or presenting itself before the others; earliest.
a1000Cædmon's Exod. 399 (Gr.) Fyrst ferhðbana. c1220Bestiary 675 Ðus fel adam..vre firste fader. 1345in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1829) 45 The freste Wardynes that euer were, of owre fraternyte. c1440Promp. Parv. 162/1 Fyrste be-getynge, primogenitura. 1483Cath. Angl. 132/1 Þe Firste martyr, prothomartir. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxi. 5 Sen oure first father formed was of clay. a1626Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law (1636) 23 This maner of gaining lands was in the first dayes, and is not now of use in England. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. iv. §7 Cadmus Milesius, supposed to be the first writer of History. 1698Vanbrugh Prov. Wife i. i, He is the first aggressor, not I. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 16 Another planted the first vines in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope. 1868Lockyer Elem. Astron. v. (1879) 193 The first clock in England was made about 1288.
b. With the application defined by a relative clause, for which in mod.Eng. to with inf. is often substituted.
c1200Ormin 797 He wass þe firrste mann Þat brohhte word onn eorþe. a1300Cursor M. 1469 (Cott.) Enoch..was þe first þat letters fand. c1400Destr. Troy 4330 The furst þat was founden of þes fals goddes. 1568Tilney Disc. Mariage A vij, I will not be the first, that shall disobey. 1798Coleridge Anc. Mar. ii, We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. xii. 658 [Voltaire] was the first who popularized in France the philosophy of Newton. Mod. You were the first person to explain the matter. He is always the first to find fault. This part of the system was one of the first to be developed, and one of the first to disappear.
c. Said of anything which occurs or presents itself next after a given point of time expressed or implied in the sentence.
1607Marston What you Will v, The first thing her bounty shall fetch is, my blush-colour satin suit from pawn. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. ii. 42 The first business was to get canoes. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. iii. §6 Make an experiment on the first man you meet. 1834L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine (1835) 138 The first thing to be done was to secure lodgings. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 138 One of his first acts, after he became King, was to recall Ormond from Ireland. 1871M. Collins Mrq. & Merch. I. viii. 240, I shall get back to London by the first train.
d. With emphatic force, where it is implied that the first event or occurrence is the only one to be regarded or waited for.
1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 56 Þey ffolwith þe vois at þe ffrist note. 1506Pylgrym. Sir R. Guylforde (Camden) 16 To euery pylgryme at the firste fote that he setteth on londe there is graunted plenary remyssion. 1607Shakes. Cor. i. viii. 5 Let the first Budger dye the others Slaue. 1675Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 433 [‘Mock speech’ of Charles II], I have made Crew, Bishop of Durham, and, at the first word of my Lady Portsmouth, Prideaux, Bishop of Chichester. 1699W. Hacke Coll. Voy. ii. 39 Some Men of War lay ready to put out after us upon the first News of our being near. a1822Shelley Unfin. Drama 153 Like a child's legend on the tideless sand, Which the first foam erases half and half Leaves legible.
e. In phr.: at († the) first sight (or view), at (the) first blush. (Also, † at first dash, first push.)
a1300Cursor M. 8029 (Cott.) He kneu þam at þe first sight. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 52 Euphues at the first sight was so kindled with desire, that [etc.]. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. ix. 51 True it is that we perceiue it not at the first push. a1593Marlowe Hero & Leander i. 176 Who ever lov'd, that lov'd not at first sight? 1611Middleton Roaring Girl iv. i, Sir A. You can play any lesson [music]? Moll. At first sight, sir. 1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 139 At first view I thought they had some resemblance with those four monsters. 1670Cotton Espernon ii. v. 202 So brisk an Article as this at first dash, and before the King would proceed to any further Treaty..would startle the Spanish Gravity. 1702C. Mather Magn. Chr. i. ii. (1833) I. 54 They saw no Indians..but such as at the first sight always ran away. 1702Eng. Theophrast. 575 A fool may so far imitate the mien..of a wise man, as at first blush to put a man at a stand what to make of him. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 426 There is more of system in the Phaedo than appears at first sight.
f. (the) first thing: advb. phrase = as the first thing that is done.
[1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 205 Rob me the Exchequer the first thing thou do'st. 1720Humorous Lett. in Lond. Jrnl. (1721) 50 My fancy..carried me, the first thing it did..to Rome.] 1836Dickens Sk. Boz 2 Go to this woman the first thing in the morning. 1885Anstey Tinted Venus 74 I'll buy a cloak for her the first thing to-morrow morning. 1893Pall Mall Mag. II. 79, I was to..hand it over to him the moment we pulled up..so that he might give it to the little one first thing.
g. ellipt. for ‘the first of the season’.
1599H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner G iij b, The first buds, or yong braunches shooting from the roote. 1860Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 8 The first cuckoo, the first swallow, sent a thrill through our hearts which is not repeated.
h. After the name of a day of the week: Next, following, north. dial.
1781D. Ritchie in Southey's Life of A. Bell (1844) I. 252, I..must prepare a new sermon for Sabbath first. 1868Atkinson Cleveland Gloss., ‘Sat'rda' first’ for Saturday next. 1890Glasgow Herald 24 Mar. 1/1 Tickets for the special service in the Cathedral, on Thursday first.
2. a. Preceding all others in a series, succession, order, set or enumeration.
O.E. Chron. an. 963 On þe fyrste sunnon dæᵹ of Aduent. a1300Cursor M. 7219 (Cott.) Sampson, þi first wijf lerd þe witte. 1380Lay Folks Catech. (Lamb. MS.) 171 The furst part [of the Hail Mary] contenys þe wordys of Gabriel. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 11 We seie is hoot in þe firste degree þat is I-heet of kyndely heete. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop ii. Proem, A fable whiche is the fyrst and formost of this second book. 1599H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner L v, He maketh Quaile the first dish of the first course. 1670Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 22 The second part..is then the first time acted. 1773Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii, The first blow is half the battle. 1827Jarman Powell's Devises II. 291 The testator had a first marriage in contemplation. 1834L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine 124 The first thing that fixes our eye is the noble river covered with boats. 1850Tennyson In Mem. lxxxv. 108 First love, first friendship, equal powers, That marry with the virgin heart. 1874Chadwick Base Ball Man. 28 When a player is on the first base and one on the third. Mod. Take the first turning on the right.
b. in dates, with ellipsis of day. Also in sporting language. the First, spec. the first of September (when partridge-shooting begins). (See also quot. 1944.)
1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. iv. 71, I summon your Grace, to his Maiesties Parliament, Holden at Bury, the first of this next Moneth. 1673S' too Him Bayes 20 Do'st thou take this to be the first of April? 1818Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. v. 525 He encamped on the 1st of June within three miles of the place. 1922H. Titus Timber xxii. 201 Humphrey was going down state the first of the week to hunt an investor. 1926Publishers' Weekly 16 Jan. 147 When the first of the year had passed. 1944H. W. Horwill Dict. Mod. Amer. Usage (ed. 2) 132/2 In Eng. one may speak of the first of the month, meaning the first day of it. In Am. one may speak also of the first of the year, or of the week; not, however, meaning the first day of this period but the first part of it.
c. in the first place: an adverbial phrase = first, firstly: see place.
1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 393, I shall therefore in the first place see what [etc.].
d. the first = even, or so much as, the first; even one, a single (U.S.). the first thing: the elements or rudiments, esp. in phr. not to know the first thing about.
1849Let. in N.Y. Tribune 23 May 2/2 On my knees, which I couldn't move the first inch. 1857W. A. Gilbert Sp. in Ho. Reps. 27 Feb. (Bartlett), I am not aware of having committed the first act which would bring upon me the displeasure of the house. 1935Punch 24 July 97/3 But I couldn't start up the car. I don't know the first thing about car-engines. 1938‘E. Cambridge’ Spring always Comes ii. xii. 267, I don't know the first thing about painting.
e. With a cardinal numeral. In this combination three varieties of word-order have been used. (a) The earliest recorded form is the two (three, etc.) first (= Fr. les deux premiers, Ger. die zwei ersten). This still survives, though it is now rarely used where numbers above 3 or 4 are concerned. † (b) In 15–16th c. two (three, etc.) the first occasionally occurs. (c) In 16th c. the growing tendency to regard first as an ordinal led to the introduction of the form the first two (three, etc.), corresponding to ‘the second two (or three, etc.)’. This is now the universal form in the case of high numbers; but for numbers up to 3 or 4 many writers use it only when the number specified is viewed as a collective unity contrasted with the second or some succeeding 2, 3, or 4 in the series.
(a)1340Ayenb. 11 þe þri verste. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 Of the whiche thre bokes, the two first be but as prefaces. 1650R. Stapylton Strada's Low C. Warres i. 13 The two first dayes the King..had the Victory. 1779–81Johnson L.P., Pope Wks. IV. 136 Each of the six first lines of the Iliad might lose two syllables. 1781Gibbon Decl. & F. III. 197 During the five first ages of the city.
(b)1447J. Shillingford Lett. (Camden) 28 As ye have..allegged by two the furst divers articulis. 1531Elyot Gov. i. xi, Two the fyrste bokes of the warke of Aristotell. 1540–1― Image Gov. 79 In eight the first yeeres of his empire.
(c)1593T. Fale Dialling 35 Omitting likewise y⊇ first three, &c. 1661Bramhall Just Vind. i. 2 For the first six hundred years and upwards. 1704Hearne Duct Hist. (1714) I. 134 He wrote the Life of Alexander in x Books, whereof the first two are lost. 1860Ellicott Life Our Lord viii. (1865) 373 The first two Evangelists.
3. a. Foremost or most advanced in position (said of things either at rest or in motion). In OE. as an independent sense, = ‘front’; subsequently as a special use of sense 2, first opposed to second, third, etc.
a1000Laws Ethelbert §51 æt ðam feower toþum fyrestum. 1647R. Stapylton Juvenal 218 The first-file of orators. 1704Marlborough in Lond. Gaz. No. 4045/2 With..the Foot of the First Line, I passed the Lech. 1801James Milit. Dict. s.v. Line, In order that the first line..may..not endanger the disposition of the second line, by precipitately crowding upon it. Mod. He was sitting in the first row of seats. The first horse in the race.
b. In adverbial phrases (where foremost may be substituted), head first, feet first, etc., i.e. with the head, feet, etc., foremost.
1877Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 46 We used to dip our toes in the waves instead of taking a plunge head first.
4. a. Foremost, preceding all others, in dignity, rank, importance, or excellence. Also in phr. of the first order [F. du premier ordre]; (to put or do) first things first: (to give) first place to the most important things.
1382Wyclif Mark ix. 34 If any man wole be the firste among ȝou. 1548Patten Exped. Scot. in Arb. Garner III. 118 It was counted for the first part of medicine to have it [i.e. the finger] cut quite away. 1670G. H. Hist. Cardinals 1 ii. 37 The Apostles were all first, and all last, without any difference of priority. 1720Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. II. xiv. 346 Courage, a General's first Quality. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) II. 639/1 Eumenes..raised himself to the first military employments. 1794[see order n. 4]. 1798Anti-Jacobin xxxi. 182 The song of Rogero..is admitted on all hands to be in the very first taste. 1821W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. XCV. 538 Fruit and vegetables, articles of the first necessity at Naples. 1837H. Martineau Soc. Amer. III. 30, I was told a great deal about ‘the first people in Boston’. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 370 There were coffee houses where the first medical men might be consulted. 1894G. Jackson (title) First things first; addresses to young men. 1895Bookman Oct. 33/1 A diplomatist of the first order. 1920W. Riley Yorkshire Suburb 136 The dear lady was..incapable..of putting first things first. 1922‘Sapper’ Black Gang xiv. 217 The whole thing is a boss shot of the first order. 1931News Chron. 28 Apr. 3/3 ‘First things first’ must be the guiding principle. 1961L. van der Post Heart of Hunter xviii. 245 The lion's sense of first-things-first decides the issue: it will go to the water before it eats. 1971Scope (S. Afr.) 19 Mar. 124/4 Let's do first things first.
b. In official titles, etc., indicating that the person designated has precedence over colleagues, as first minister (more commonly ‘prime minister’); First Lord of the Admiralty, of the Treasury; also ellipt.; first lieutenant, etc.
1753Hanway Trav. (1762) II. ii. i. 70 The first minister..is a kind of representative on behalf of the regal prerogative. 1782Ann. Reg. 255 Royal Oak—Mr. Gwatkin, first lieutenant, killed. 1814Jane Austen Mansf. Park II. vii. 155, I would rather find him private secretary to the first Lord than any thing else. 1843Carlyle Past & Pr. ii. xvii. 174 Of whom as First Lord of the Treasury..we could be so glad and proud. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, First mate, the chief officer of a merchant vessel; the next in rank to the captain. 1866H. Coppee Grant & his Campaigns 25 His first-lieutenancy dated from Sep. 16, 1847. 1884Manch. Exam. 19 Feb. 5/2 The plaintiff..was engaged as first tenor at the Comedy Theatre. 1963Times 26 Apr. 19/4 There is no truth in the allegation that the presence of another spy inside the Admiralty was known to the First Lord and his Service chiefs for 18 months before Vassall's arrest.
II. absol. (quasi-n.)
5. In certain absolute uses.
a. the first: the thing or person first mentioned. (Where only two are mentioned, the former is now commonly preferred.)
1579Lyly Euphues (1607) B iv, I am neither so suspitious to mistrust your good wil, nor so sottish to mislike your good counsaile, as I am therefore to thanke you for the first, so it stands me vpon to thinke better of the latter. 1774Pennant Tour in Scotl. in 1772, 238 They yield bear and potatoes, much of the first is used in distillation.
b. spec. in Her. the first = that tincture which is first mentioned in a blazon.
1562Leigh Armorie (1597) 28 b, I sayde, voyded of the first, because Argent was the first that was named. 1705Hearne Collect. 8 Dec., Sable, A Cross argent, charg'd with another of the first. 1828–40Berry Encycl. Her. II, Filshed quarterly or. and az.; on the second and third quarters, an eagle, displayed, of the first.
c. the first = the first part, the beginning (obs. or dial. in ordinary phrases). Esp. in phrases the first of the ebb, flood, or tide.
a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. xxvii. (1590) 220 b, But now perceiuing the flood of their furie began to ebbe, he thought it policie to take the first of the tide. 1670Narborough in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. (1711) 44 At the first of the Flood we caught five hundred Fishes. 1761Brit. Mag. II. 446 The six prames..dropt down upon the first of the ebb. 1784Unfort. Sensibility II. 67 It was boiling from the first of the morning, till they wanted their dinners. 1798Invasion II. 14, I had..from the first of his entrance, kept retreating to the other side of the room. 1840Marryat Poor Jack xxii, We shall be able to stem the first of the flood.
d. Printing. (See quots.)
1683Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 319 The one they distinguish by the name of First, the other his Second, these call one another Companions: The First is he that has wrought longest at that Press. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab., First, the senior or leading partner of the two men who work at a hand-press.
e. first and last: all, ‘one and all’.
1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 2 First and last, helpe, quench all.
6. In adverbial phrases with a preposition:
a. from the first: from the beginning, at the outset, to start with. from first to last: from beginning to end, throughout.
1611Bible Luke i. 3 Hauing had perfect vnderstanding of things from the very first. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 18 Their Practice, from the first, is ill grounded. 1849Grote Greece ii. lxxii. (1862) VI. 347 The mainstay of the Thirty from first to last. 1885Manch. Even. News 16 July 3/1 The disaffected section..made a dead set against him from the first. 1893Strand Mag. VI. 473/1 Mr. Gladstone was..in his place from first to last.
b. at first (also, at the first, now rare): † (a) first, for the first time; † (b) in the first place; † (c) at once, immediately; (d) at the beginning, at the first stage.
(a)a1300Cursor M. 12605 (Gött.) Wid þe grete maistris þus he badd Till mari had hir iornai made, þan at þe frist on him toght scho. c1340Ibid. 1558 (Fairf.) And now at first wakkenes woghe. 1682Creech Lucretius ii. 576 In Phrygia Corn at first took birth.
(b)1340Ayenb. 46 Of þise ȝenne uondeþ þe dyeuel in vif maneres..Auerst ine fole ziȝþe efterward ine fole wordes [etc.]. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 359 We graunten at þe firste, þat [etc.].
(c)1362Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 159 And hoped aftur hunger þo, þat herde him atte furste. a1626Bp. Andrewes 7 Serm. iv. (1627) 65 He bids them..but whistle for an Angell, and they will come at first. 1643Prynne Sov. Power Parl. iii. 132 How little coherence there is in this Argument, the silliest childe may at first discern.
(d)1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 185 Their broode lieth very small at the first. 1599H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner B iv, This fruite was at first white. 1611Bible John xii. 16 These things vnderstood not his disciples at the first. 1671Milton Samson 883 Why then Didst thou at first receive me for thy husband? 1712Steele Spect. No. 455 ⁋3, I am no more delighted with it than I was at the very first. 1776Trial of Nundocomar 23/1 He was at first very ill, then got better. 1845M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 25 The assurance he had at first displayed was now succeeded by an air of embarrassment. 1874Boutell Arms & Arm. xi. 216 At the first they made petards with it.
†c. with the first: among the first (persons or things); hence, chiefly, especially (cf. L. cum primis).
1611Abp. Ussher Lett. (1686) 15 Of which we will not fail to certifie you with the first. 1621T. Bedford Sinne unto Death 34 This is apprimè necessarium, necessary with the first. 1660F. Brooke Le Blanc's Trav. 270 The servant..coming in with the first.
7. Elliptical uses passing into quasi-n. (admitting of plural).
a. Anything that is first (nonce-uses).
1587Golding De Mornay vi. 71 There are two Firsts: the one is Gods worde, and the other is God. 1892Daily News 1 Dec. 2/3 The 1st June and December are the two quietest ‘firsts’ in the year.
b. Comm. first of exchange: the first of a set of bills of exchange of even tenor and date.[The ellipsis of bill is common to all the European langs.; but the phrase is often written in full, both in Eng. and in the other langs.] 1809R. Langford Introd. Trade 27 Three months after date, pay this my first of Exchange (second and third not paid) to the order of Mr. R. Rich. 1866Crump Banking v. 137 In case of delay of the arrival of a first of exchange.
c. A place in the first class in an examination-list; the first place in an athletic contest. Also, a man who has taken a place in the first class.
1850Clough Dipsychus ix. 110 Philip returned to his books..Got a first, 'tis said. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. iv. (1889) 32 He'll be a safe first, though I don't believe he reads more than you or I. 1885M. Pattison Mem. 26 The men who got firsts would have done so equally at any college. 1885Cyclist 19 Aug. 1089/1 He..won four firsts and a second last week.
d. Mus. (See quot. 1823).
a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 159 The performers on glasses..who play firsts, seconds, and sometimes a base altogether. 1823Crabb Technol. Dict., First (Mus.), the upper part of a duett, trio [etc.].
e. Baseball: = first base.
f. pl. Used to denote the best quality of certain articles of commerce, e.g. butter.
1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 535 The finest marls, called firsts, are selected for the arches of doorways, &c. 1832Porter Porcelain & Glass (Lardner) 186 Crown glass is sold, according to its quality, under four different denominations—firsts, seconds, thirds, and fourths. 1887Times 27 Aug., Butter:—Firsts, 119s.; seconds, 113s.
g. A first edition; a first-class railway carriage or compartment; the first known or discovered example or specimen of a thing; a first instance or occurrence.
1922M. Sadleir Excurs. Vict. Bibliogr. 6, I have contrived..to keep myself fairly supplied with ‘reading firsts’. 1924G. McLeish's Catal. 13 Essential to the collection of ‘modern firsts’. 1925B. Travers Mischief iv, The train arrived and Eleanor..was easily spotted, being alone in the firsts. 1931Buck & Anthony Bring 'em back Alive 215 There is no bigger thrill in the game than bringing back rare ‘firsts’ [i.e. an animal that has not been seen alive before in the country to which it is brought]. 1955Times 20 June 8/7 Another important French ‘first’ was the arrival of the Caravelle, the country's first jet airliner. 1960Analog Science Fact/Fiction Dec. 83 Echo I, the sateloon that went up last August, was a true First in space flight. 1960J. Betjeman Summoned by Bells vi. 58 Perhaps one day I'll find a ‘first’ of Keats. 1963J. F. Straker Final Witness iv. 48 ‘I'm sorry about that, Paul.’ That made another first: they had not used Christian names before. 1970Guardian 27 Feb. 8/5 Those were days of high adventure: every programme was a first..breaking new ground. 1971L. Black Death has Green Fingers ix. 100 I'm in a first, next carriage along the train.
h. The first or lowest gear on a motor vehicle or bicycle.
1909J. S. V. Bickford Faults & how to find Them §1173 If, however, the change from first to second (not through the gate we are assuming) has to be done quickly, [etc.]. 1935G. Heyer Death in Stocks iv. 40 Antonia slammed the gear-lever into first and started with a jerk. 1968P. Dickinson Weathermonger vi. 66 He wrenched the gear into first and banged through, misjudging it slightly.
B. adv. [OE. fyrst, the accus. neut. of the adj. Cf. ON. fyrst, OHG. furist.]
1. a. Before any other or anything else, in time, serial order, rank, etc.; before anything else is done or takes place. Also in strengthened phr. first of all, first and foremost.
O.E. Chron. an. 963 Se biscop com þa fyrst to Eliᵹ. c1200Ormin 6876 Forrþi comenn þeȝȝ himm firrst To sekenn i þatt ende. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 383 To chyrche & to pouere men he ȝef vorst, as he ssolde. c1340Cursor M. 22879 (Trin.) Bi his wille doþ þat kyng out of þe harde tre to spryng forst þe leef & þenne þe flour and siþen fruyt. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 542 Julius Cesar..Off Rome wes fryst maid Emperour. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 116 Þat she furste & formest ferme shulde bilieue. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 732 Þai straue wha first to lande myght wynne. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 5 [He] must fasten his mynde firste of all, upon these five especiall pointes. 1635R. N. tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. ii. xii. 110 She wished them, first and formost to get the Queene's assent. 1667Milton P.L. i. 377 Who first, who last Rous'd from the slumber, on that fiery Couch. 1718Prior Alma iii. 397 Who first offend will first complain. 1776Trial of Nundocomar 68/1 Having received that money, I will pay you first, and after that will pay others. 1814Wordsw. Excursion i. Poems (1888) 422/1 Oh, Sir! the good die first. 1841Keble Serm. xi. (1848) 275 The two who first saw our Lord. 1874Stubbs Const. Hist. I. xii. 492 Consent of the historians..makes him, first and foremost, a legislator. 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 88 Your wet ropes..give blisters first And then a horny hand.
b. proverb. first come, first served. Also as attrib. phr.
1545Brinklow Compl. xvii. E iij, First come first serued, so one or ij shal be all payed, & y⊇ rest shal haue nothing. 1632Massinger Maid of Hon. i. ii, And you know, First come first serv'd. 1860Macm. Mag. June 113 The sailors..rushed away to the boat. First come, first in. 1887Times (weekly ed.) 24 June 7/4 It was..a case of first come, first served. 1960R. B. Gregg Power of Nonviolence (ed. 2) i. 38 Passengers were seated on a first-come, first-served basis. 1964Sun (Brisbane) 23 July 9/1 The Administration Bill would substitute the quota system with one based on a first-come, first-served basis.
c. In a statement, discourse, or argument, where points or topics are enumerated: In the first place, as the first thing to be mentioned or considered, firstly.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 441 Þai say furst, þat [etc.]. c1386Chaucer Melib. ⁋275 Ffirst and forward ye han erred in thassemblynge of youre conseillours. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. vii. 15 For ich formest and ferst..Haue ybe vnboxome. 1583Babington Commandm. v. (1637) 41 First & formest..let them [etc.]. 1644H. Parker Jus Pop. 39, I make answer First..Secondly..Thirdly. 1711Addison Spect. No. 89 ⁋4 First of all I would have them seriously think on the Shortness of their Time. 1847[see firstly 1].
†d. At first, originally. Obs.
c1100tr. Bull of Pope Agatho in Cod. Dipl. V. 30 Ic Saxulf, ðe wæs first abbot and nu eam biscop. a1300Cursor M. 5373 (Gött.) First was he here as vr thrall, Nou vnder me es he mast of all. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. ii. xviii. (1622) 58 Plancina growing more insolent then first. a1721Prior (J.), Heav'n, sure, has kept this spot of earth uncurst, To shew how all things were created first.
e. first and last: taking one thing with another, at one time and another, reckoned altogether, in all. first or last: at one time or another, sooner or later.
1678Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 45 Lord Shrewsbery is like to marry Mr. Chiffens his daughter who will be first and last made worth 40,000l. to him. 1699W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 2 The Bay of Campeachy, where I lived first and last about 3 Years. a1700Dryden (J.), All are fools and lovers first or last. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. iv. 65, I brought away all the sails first and last.
f. first off: at the first blush, in the first place, to begin with. U.S. colloq.
1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xx. 193 First-off, I thought it would certainly give me the botts. 1897W. D. Howells Landlord at Lion's Head 445 First off, you know, I thought I'd sell to the other feller. 1910W. M. Raine B. O'Connor 39 Four's right. First off Neil, then the fellow I took to be the Wolf. 1915Nation (N.Y.) 10 June 646/1 Men of science..no longer admit first off what simple good sense shows to us.
g. first in, first out: (a) = fifo n. (a.) a.
1934Jrnl. Accountancy Nov. 344 Shall cost be on the basis of ‘first in, first out’? 1936N. L. Burton Introd. Cost Accounting vii. 109 When the first-in, first-out method is used, goods received are entered at actual cost—invoice price plus freight, etc.{ddd} Subsequent issues are priced at the cost of the second shipment received. 1945,1965[see fifo a. (n.) a]. 1978J. Kellock Elements of Accounting iii. 66 First in, first out, the calculation used in this method is based on the principle that the oldest unit costs are the first units sold.
(b) Computing. (Pertaining to, using, or designating) a procedure in which the item removed from a buffer, queue, etc., is always the one that has been in it the longest.
1966IBM Systems Jrnl. V. 84 Another Class-1 algorithm, called fifo (first in, first out), has been investigated. fifo always replaces the block having spent the longest time in memory. 1969P. B. Jordain Condensed Computer Encycl. 406 The next item to be retrieved will be the item that was inserted earliest in the list, resulting in a first-in, first-out structure. 1973P. B. Hansen Operating Syst. Princ. v. 188 The simplest replacement algorithm is first-in, first-out, which is used in the B5500 system. 1977E. E. Klingman Microprocessor Systems Design iv. 91 (heading) First-in-first-out buffers. 1984H. M. Deitel Introd. Operating Systems (rev. ed.) ix. 218 In the first-in-first-out page replacement, we time-stamp each page as it enters primary storage. When a page needs to be replaced, we choose the one that has been in storage longest. Ibid., First-in-first-out is likely to replace heavily used pages because the reason a page has been in primary storage for a long time may well be that it is in constant use.
2. a. Before some other specified or implied thing, time, event, etc.
a1300Cursor M. 1625 (Gött.) Bot firist a tre, ar i bigine, I sal here sett of noe kinne. 1567Satir. Poems Reform. vii. 189 Conarus was inclosit First being dewlie for his fault deposit. 1597J. Payne Royal Exch. 38 Although it be long fyrst..yet..they come. 1611Bible 2 Sam. xiii. 13 Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Sauls daughter. 1618Bolton Florus (1636) 251 They wasted the puissance of Sertorius in battell, though it was long first. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 7 Ask'd..when those of Holstein would be receiv'd; he told him..it would be three weeks first. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) VIII. 15 Mr. Pocock undertakes to deliver this; but fears it will be Saturday night first. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxviii, I wounded one who first assaulted me. 1855Dickens Dorrit v, She had this bit of work to begin first..that bit of work to finish first. 1884A. R. Pennington Wiclif ix. 297 It is impossible for the priest to remit the sins of any unless they are first remitted by Christ.
b. In preference to something else; rather, sooner (than do something specified or implied, or allow it to be done).
1580A. Melville in Life (1819) I. ii. 87 They shall have all the blood of my body first. a1625Fletcher Hum. Lieutenant ii. iv, My noble childe, thou shalt not fall in virtue, I and my power will sink first. 1797Frere & Canning in Anti-Jacobin ii. 11, I give thee sixpence? I will see thee d—d first! 1819Shelley Cenci v. iii. 99 O weak, wicked tongue..would that thou hadst been Cut out and thrown to dogs first! 1869Browning Ring & Bk. IV. x. 311 Die? He'll bribe a gaoler or break prison first!
3. For the first time, then and not earlier (with reference to a specified time, place, etc.).
c1300St. Brandan 246 After than that seint Brendan furst this yle i-seȝ. c1350Will. Palerne 648 Þus was ferst here sad sorwe sesed þat time. c1400Mandeville (1839) xi. 126 From þenne, Pylgrymes mowen fyrste se vn to Jerusalem. a1461Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 249 Whan seyntes felle fryst from hevene. c1600Shakes. Sonn. civ. 2 For as you were when first your eye I eyde, Such seemes your beautie still. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. i. §1, I knew him first at the Temple. 1776Trial of Nundocomar 25/1 When was it that you first heard mention of the bond? 1850Tennyson In Mem. xl, A maiden in the day When first she wears her orange-flower!
4. ellipt. for first class (in travelling by railway, etc.).
1889J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat iv. 50 They would..pay the difference and go first. 1919D. Ashford Young Visiters ii. 23 They traveled 2nd class in the train and Ethel was longing to go first but thought perhaps least said soonest mended. 1922M. Arlen Piracy ii. xix. 288 Travelling ‘first’ with a ‘third’ ticket. 1967‘J. Munro’ Money that Money can't Buy vi. 75 They..went aboard their Trident..Loomis had insisted on travelling first.
C. Comb.
1. Chiefly of adv. with ppl. adjs., as first-begot, first-begotten (whence first-begottenship), first-built, first-conceived, first-created, first-done, first-endeavouring, first-famed, first-formed, first-found, first-framed, first-gendered, first-gotten, first-grown, first-intended, first-invented, † first-kinned (= first-born), first-made, first-mentioned, first-moving, first-named, etc. Also with ordinary adj., as first-ripe. Also with vbl. nouns, as first-beginner, first-beginning, first-comer, first-mover, first-running. The combs. first-movable, -moved, -mover, -moving have all been used as equivalents for the primum mobile of the old astronomy.
1587Golding De Mornay vi. 71 Hee calleth him the *Firstbeginner.
1860Munro Lucretius (1864) i. 55, I..will open up the *first-beginnings of things.
1671Milton P.R. i. 89 His *first-begot we know.
1382Wyclif Zech. xii. 10 In deth of the *first bygoten. c1440Promp. Parv. 162/1 Fyrste begoton, primogenitus.
1583Golding Calvin on Deut. cxcv. 1212 Hee was not of the common sort, but had as it were a *first-begottenship.
1887Bowen Virg. æneid iii. 17, I..Found my *first-built walls in an evil hour on the shore.
1868Lowell Shaks. Pr. Wks. 1890 III. 45 The privilege which only *first-comers enjoy. 1880Libr. Univ. Knowl. X. 368 The foundling named by the first-comer.
1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 44 The *first-conceiued sound.
1552Huloet, *First created, protoplastes. 1671Milton Samson 83 O first-created beam.
1552Huloet, *First done or spedde, præuersus.
1627Milton Vac. Exerc. 2 Hail Native Language, that by sinews weak Didst move my *first-endeavouring tongue to speak.
1859Tennyson Guinevere 321 The two *first-famed for courtesy.
1497Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. B iij, Our *fyrst fourmed faders. 1874Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) III. 194, I have found first-formed theories erroneous.
1594Blundevil Exerc. ii. (ed. 7) 109 So shall you have the *first found number.
1633Earl of Manchester Al Mondo (1636) 12 Our *first-framed father Adam.
1388Wyclif Ps. civ. [cv.] 36 He killide ech the *firste gendrid thing in the lond of hem.
1382Ibid., He smot alle the *firste goten in the lond of hem.
1785J. Phillips Treat. Inland Navig. 47, 900l. less than the *first-intended expence.
1827G. Higgins Celtic Druids 35 The *first invented letters.
a1300E.E. Psalter civ. [cv.] 36 He smate al *first-kinned in land of þa.
1630Drayton Noah's Flood 203 The earthly Heauen, where he had plac't That *first-made Man.
1877J. D. Chambers Divine Worship 390 The *first-mentioned formularies are the more ancient.
1594Blundevil Exerc. iii. i. iii. (ed. 7) 281 The tenth [sphere] is called the *first movable.
1667Milton P.L. iii. 483 That Crystalline Sphear whose ballance weighs The Trepidation talkt, and that *first mov'd.
Ibid. vii. 500 As the great *first-Movers hand First wheeld thir course. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. (1815) 118 The opposition cursed him, as the indefatigable drudge of a first-mover. 1796Hutton Math. Dict., First Mover in the old Astronomy, is the Primum Mobile.
c1625Milton Death Fair Infant 39 Whether above that high *first⁓moving sphere Or in the Elysian fields.
1838Dickens O. Twist xviii, The *first-named young gentleman.
1599H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner C ij, In Latine Præcocia, or Præmatura. Id est. Soone ripe, or *first ripe. 1611Bible Num. xiii. 20 Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.
1764Foote Patron ii. Wks. 1799 I. 341 When..the sprightly *first-runnings of life are rack'd off, you offer the vapid dregs to your deity.
2. a. In syntactical combs. of a permanent nature or with a special meaning: for many of these, as first cause, first cousin, first intention, first magnitude, first person, first principle, first water, see the respective ns. Many of them are used attrib. and as adjs., and are then regularly written with the hyphen: see esp. first chop (chop n.5 4), first-class, first-rate. Also, first aid (to the wounded), assistance given on the spot in the case of street-accidents and the like, before proper medical treatment is procured; also fig.; first-aider, one who is skilled in first aid; first ascent, the ascent of a particular mountain for the first time; first base (see base n.1 15 d); first birth, a first-born child; also fig.; hence † first-birth-right; first blood, in Pugilism, the first drawing of blood; also fig.; first coat, the first layer of plaster or paint; hence first-coated a.; first cost, prime cost; also attrib.; first cross, the crossing of two pure breeds; the offspring of such a cross; first-day cover, an envelope bearing, or designed to bear, stamps postmarked on the day when they were first issued (see cover n.1 2 d); first derivative Calculus, the derivative of a function obtained by differentiating it once; first-ever a. (see ever adv. 7 f); first feature, the main feature in a cinema programme; first-fleeter Austral. slang (see quots.); first-foot (north.), the person who first enters a house after the beginning of the new year; hence first-footing; first-footer, one who goes first-footing; first form, (a) the lowest form in a school; (b) in Printing (see quots.); first futtocks (Naut.; see quot.); first gear, the lowest gear (cf. gear n. 7 b); first lady, the most important lady; in the U.S., spec. the wife of the President; in full the first lady in the land; first light orig. Mil., the time when light first appears in the morning (see also quot. 1952); first line, those fighting forces that are most advanced or of the highest quality; first love, (a) the first time one falls in love; the emotion felt at such a time; (b) one's favourite occupation, pastime, possession, etc.; first man (Mining; see quot.); first motion (Mech.; see quot.); first night, the night on which a play, or a particular representation of a play, is first produced on the stage; also attrib.; hence first-nighter (one who assists at a ‘first night’), first-nighting; first novel, the first novel written by a particular author; first offender (see offender note); † first penny (see penny); first pointed a. Arch., = Early English (see early a. 4 b); first polar Math., (of a point (a0, a1, ..an) with respect to a curve described by the homogeneous function f(x0, x1, ..xn) = 0) the curve represented by the equation σiai∂f/∂xi = 0; first position, (a) the lowest possible position of the hand on the fingerboard of a stringed instrument; (b) Dancing (see quot. 1884); first refusal, an agreement with a prospective customer that goods, etc., will not be on sale to others until he has refused them (cf. refusal 3); also transf. and fig.; first run U.S., the first showing or première of a film; first school Educ., a primary school for children aged between five and eight years; first sergeant U.S., the highest ranking non-commissioned officer in a company or equivalent unit; first sight, (a) see sense 1 above; (b) that which is seen for the first time (nonce-use); also attrib.; whence first-sighted ppl. a. (nonce-wd.); first-spear, in pig-sticking, the first thrust which draws blood; also, the man who makes it; first story = first floor; first-strike, a first aggressive attack with nuclear weapons; freq. attrib.; first-time buyer, a buyer of property who has not previously owned a home, and therefore has no house to sell; first timer, one who does or is something for the first time; also, something done for the first time or at the first attempt; First World War, now the more usual term for the Great War (b); first youth, early youth; esp. in phr. in or past one's first youth. Also first day, etc.
1882Princess Christian tr. Esmarch (title) *First aid to the injured. 1892Medical Annual 602 Dressing (First Aid). 1926W. Deeping Sorrell & Son i. §2 The porter applied first aid to their piece of luggage.
1944Living off Land v. 101 The *First Aider should keep cool. 1956J. A. C. Brown Soc. Psychol. Industry 142 The knowledgeable first-aider.
1935D. Pilley Climbing Days xvi. 321 Recent chronicles of the French Alpine Club are filled annually with notes of his *First Ascents and other exploits.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ix. xxxi. (1495) 366 The vertue of the angell that slewe the *fyrste byrthes were wythstonde therby. 1827Hare Guesses Ser. i. (1847) 55 Those twin firstbirths of Poetry.
1650J. Trapp Clavis to the Bible I. 299 Then came forth Perez..who took the *first-birth-right and kingdom by force.
1809*First blood [see knock-down B. n. 2]. 1899R. Kipling in McClure's Mag. May 11/2 First blood to me. You flushed, Ansell. You wriggled. 1964C. Willock Enormous Zoo iii. 52 Before first blood was drawn it was decided to see what could be done to the ruined grazing of certain areas by simply keeping the hippo out.
1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 390 *First Coat of two-coat work, in plastering, is denominated laying when on lath, and rendering when on brick.
1870Eng. Mech. 11 Feb. 385/1 The laths are ‘primed’ or *first-coated.
1772Franklin Lett. Wks. 1887 IV. 547 Which, at the *first cost here, can scarce be reckoned at less than half a guinea a head per annum. 1778T. Jefferson Lett. Wks. 1893 II. 156 The master had once sold the whole cargo..for 5s. 3p. the livre, first cost. 1840L'pool. Jrnl. 4 July 1/4 Quantity of soiled account books..at first cost prices.
1862W. Youatt Sheep vii. 260 The *first cross evidently detracted much from the beauty of the English sheep. 1910T. Allen Profitable Pig Breeding ii. 13 A first cross of pure-bred stock, judiciously selected, is hard to beat. 1937C. Forman Pig Breeding iii. 27 Other first crosses might be made with equal success. 1947J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. xxi. 165 The two best dogs..I ever possessed..were a first-cross between a pointer and a bull-terrier, and a first-cross between Great Dane and Irish terrier. 1962W. E. Bowden Beef Breeding ii. 64 Milk yields from the first cross would be less than one would expect.
1938*First-day cover [see cover n.1 2 d]. 1951J. L. Grumbridge Introd. Stamps ix. 103 This quite intelligible demand for first-day covers as items of philatelic interest. 1971D. Potter Brit. Eliz. Stamps vi. 66 To accompany the new stamps, a very simple first-day cover envelope was prepared by the Post Office.
1834Rep. Brit. Assoc. 1833 338 If f(x) = 0, or X = 0 be the equation, f′(x), f{pp}(x), or X′, X{pp} its *first and second derivatives. 1852T. G. Hall Differential & Integral Calculus (ed. 5) iii. 31 This process is called successive differentiation, and du/dx, dp/dx, dq/dx, &c. are called the first, second, third, &c. differential coefficients, or the first, second, third, &c. derivatives of u. 1881First derivative [see derivative B. 3]. 1953P. Franklin Differential & Integral Calculus iii. 50 If this function is differentiable, its derivative..will be a new function of x. Suppose that this new function is differentiable. Then the derivative of the first derivative is called the second derivative of the original function.
1936World Film News May 28/2 To sell a film as a *first-feature, a producer must have a personality..well enough known to induce the public to go to the..theatres. 1958Observer 9 Mar. 4/6 This film—a first feature on its first release round a big circuit— was badly presented.
1830D. McLeod in Hist. Rec. Australia (1922) 1st Ser. XV. 371 One of the *first Fleeters died a few Years ago. 1848H. W. Haygarth Recoll. Bush Life Austral. viii. 93 A man who, by his own account, is of so long standing in the neighbourhood as to have been what is called in the colony a ‘first fleeter’. 1850Dickens in Househ. Words I. 418/2 He was a ‘first fleeter’, that is, came over with Governor Phillips in the first fleet.
1805Nicol Poems I. 33 (Jam.) Ere new years' morn begin to peep At doors, the lasses sentrie keep, To let the *first-fit in. 1883J. Parker Tyne Ch. 4 How glad..the dear soul was when she had a good ‘first-foot’ on New Year's morning.
1897Daily News 23 Sept. 2/6 Scottish ‘*first-footers’ in the fifteenth century awoke the night echoes with a mild and ‘soughing’ Tra-la-la. 1926Glasgow Herald 30 Dec. 6 The red herring which your Dundee ‘first-footer’ carries with him as a lucky emblem.
1864A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (ed. 4) 112 Another custom..was that of *first-footing on the morning of New-year's day. 1883Black in Harper's Mag. Dec. 63 At midnight ‘first-footing’ begins, and it is considered very lucky if your first visitor should be a dark-haired man.
1683Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 376 *First Form, the Form the White Paper is Printed on, which generally by Rule ought to have the First Page of the Sheet in it. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab., First Forme, the inner or outer [forme] of a sheet—whichever is printed off first.
1867Smyth Sailor's Wordbk., *First Futtocks, timbers in the frame of a ship which come down between the floor-timbers almost to the keel on each side.
1909R. W. A. Brewer Motor Car xii. 120 On changing down to the *first gear the power of the engine due to its increased rate of revolution rises to 20 B.H.P. 1965Motoring Which? Oct. 136/2 The effect of changing to low ratio is to make all gears lower, so that, for example, in the Land-Rover you then have three gears lower than the ordinary first gear.
1853Lytton My Novel I. iv. ix. 306 She was so beautiful..and not proud she! though she looked like the *first lady in the land. 1861W. H. Russell Diary 3 Nov. (1863) II. 393 Some charming little pieces of gossip about ‘the first Lady in the Land’. 1948Chicago Tribune 26 June i. 1/4 Mrs. Thomas E. Dewey disclosed today what kind of first lady she will be. 1950‘E. Crispin’ Freq. Hearses i. 27 Madge is one of the First Ladies of British Films. 1965Sunday Times 7. Nov. Suppl. 13/1 [Mrs. Kennedy] disapproved of the term ‘First Lady’, which had come into semi-official usage in the previous administration. 1970Washington Post 30 Sept. B2/1 The First Lady of the United States was questioned by Italian women reporters today.
1946Amer. Speech XXI. 209 Orders [in the Eighth Army] for an early start never mentioned dawn but instead used *first light... There might be some squabble about just what time constituted dawn. There couldn't be any at all about first light, at least not in the desert. 1952Brewer's Dict. Phr. & Fable 364/1 First light, roughly, dawn. Used in World War II to signify the earliest time at which infantry can see to make their way forward. 1969Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 6 July 1/6 A search-light equipped helicopter was to press the search overnight, with the full armada out in force again at first light today.
1914H. M. Buist Aircraft in German War 78 They are accounting for such large numbers of the enemy's *first line of airmen.
1741Richardson Pamela III. xiv. 63 It was a *first Love on both Sides; and so he could not appear to her as a practised Deceiver. 1825H. Wilson Mem. II. 91 First love is all powerful in the head and heart of such an ardent character as Worcester's. 1954E. McLeod tr. Colette's Vagabond ii. viii. 129 You couldn't mistake it; it was love indeed, first love. That was what it was and never again will be. 1971Radio Times 27 May 5/1 Despite a recent ITV series his first love remains radio. 1971Daily Tel. 21 June 19/2 However, she is put off by the apparently poor prospects of a career in biology, her first love.
1883Gresley Gloss. Coal Mining, *First man, the head butty or coal getter in a stall, who..is responsible for the safety of the men working under him and for the proper working of the coal.
1888Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., *First-motion, a term of general application, as first motion shafts, first motion belts, first motion wheel, &c., meaning the one which first receives, and then communicates, power to its successors.
1711*First Night [see night n. 4 b]. 1894Westm. Gaz. 3 Apr. 2/3 A ‘first-night’ notice.
1882*First-nighter [see nighter]. 1886Boisgobey's Steel Necklace v. 79 All the first-nighters had turned out in force.
1887Daily News 3 May 6/1 The social philosophy of *first nighting.
1876Gentl. Mag. Oct. 412 Daniel Deronda..is as much a *first novel, from a fresh hand and mind, as if no scene of clerical life had ever been penned. 1906Daily Chron. 18 Oct. 3/3 One of the best first-novels of recent years. 1942E. Waugh Put out More Flags iii. 213 ‘It won't do,’ he always said whenever Mr Bentley produced a new author, ‘no one ever reads first novels.’
1849Chambers's Edin. Jrnl. 3 Nov. 283/2 In the assize-yard there was a considerable number of what are called *first-offenders. 1935Economist 18 June 1353/1 Not at Borstal only, but in at least one of the prisons for first offenders, the humanising influence is at work.
1674Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 424 E of Pembroke marryed to Madame Qerronal's [sic] sister. The King gives 1000 *first peny.
1875Encycl. Brit. II. 427/1 The *First Pointed, Lancet, or Early English style to which the transitional work thus led up. 1886F. G. Lee Edw. VI, i. 58 A first-pointed chapel and charnel-house.
1877Encycl. Brit. VI. 720/2 If the given curve has a node, the *first polar passes through this node,..and..if the curve has a cusp, the first polar passes through the cusp, touching the curve there. 1949Semple & Roth Introd. Algebraic Geom. i. 11 The first polar of an arbitrary point Q with respect to a primal V n / r-1 is a primal of order n-1, which meets V n / r-1 in the locus of points of contact of tangent lines from Q.
1880H. E. Krehbiel tr. Courvoisier's Technics of Violin Playing (1881) iii. 14 (caption) Correct position of the thumb and fingers in the *first position. 1884D. Anderson Compl. Ball-Room Guide 10 First position, heels together, and toes turned out at a right angle. 1957G. B. L. Wilson Dict. Ballet 124 In the First Position the legs are together and the heels touching but not overlapping, with the feet fully turned out in a straight line. 1966tr. Flesch's Violin Fingering i. 9 The basic position of the hand at the lower end of the fingerboard, with the first finger naturally poised to produce a second above the open string, constitutes the ‘first position’.
1871G. H. Lewes Let. 5 Apr. (1955) V. 139 We want {pstlg}100 for the early sheets—the poem to appear in America in June—and of course we give you the *first refusal. 1887First refusal [see refusal 3]. 1966Listener 9 June 833/1 Sometimes I am asked why we have a month's first refusal agreement with ABC. Could we not sell more in an open field? 1970M. Kelly Spinifex i. 12, I made damn sure this department got the first refusal of your services.
1912*First run [see sense C 2 b]. 1921Moving Picture World 29 Oct. 1067/3 Vitagraph's manager..wrote contracts for first runs in twenty-eight towns. 1939L. Jacobs Rise of Amer. Film iv. 53 A ‘first run’, for instance, cost the exhibitor twenty times as much as a ‘twentieth run’. 1976D. Spoto Art of Alfred Hitchcock xxix. 291 The first time I saw Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo was in 1958, its first run.
1967Primary Educ. in Wales (Dept. Educ. & Sci. Central Advisory Council Educ., Wales) iv. 23 We recommend the following long-term plan for primary education: Nursery stage (part-time, voluntary)..3 to median 5:6..Infants stage (*First school) Median 5:6..to median 8:6..Junior stage (Middle school) Median 8:6 to median 12:6. 1973New Society 10 May 294/1 The eight to twelve year old middle school was first seriously discussed in the early 1960s, when it was rumoured that the Plowden committee might eventually consider a system of first schools for the five to eight year olds. 1986Guardian 17 Feb. 6/2 The village would consent to the school becoming a first school, rather than a primary.
1874J. K. Polk in Amer. Speech (1957) XXXII. 209 *First Sergeant W. Peat, of this company, who acted with extraordinary daring, lost one of his legs. 1969I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam vi. 117 First Sergeant Bryant, the senior N.C.O. in ‘A’ Force.
1773Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. iii, Then your *first sight deceived you; for I think him one of the most brazen first sights that ever astonished my senses. 1859Farrar J. Home 27 Without any first-sight vows of eternal friendship.
1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. 305 To compliment our own sagacity, in our *first-sighted impressions.
1898Encycl. Sport II. 92 The object of the run is to kill the pig, and not entirely for getting the honour of ‘*first spear’. Ibid., First spear... Transferred frequently to the man who makes it. 1920Blackw. Mag. Jan. 112/2 Much of the supreme joy in pig⁓sticking lies in the successful struggle for first-spear and in outgeneraling and outriding one's friends. Ibid., A first-spear which merely pricks the pig in the buttock, is a matter for shame.
1662J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 137 The River which often overflowes drowns them sometimes to the *first story. 1834L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine (1835) 181 [The prisons] were sometimes placed in the first story of the donjon. 1860Bartlett Dict. Amer. s.v. Story, In the United States the floor next the ground is the first story. [Cf. first-floor 2.]
1962Listener 5 Apr. 605/2 A Russian *first strike.
1973Times 9 Oct. 4/4 The Building Societies Association was taken unawares by the Government's specific proposals to help *first-time buyers. 1986What Mortgage June 8/2 Two out of every five applicants for new mortgages were first time buyers.
1961Webster *First timer, s.v. timer. 1976Evening Post (Nottingham) 15 Dec. 15/4 (Advt.), Cheery bright house, ideal for first timers. 1977Hongkong Standard 12 Apr. 11/2 He centred to Leung Kam-fat who, from just 12 yards out, did well with his first-timer. 1986Sunday Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 2 Feb. 29/4 She's got a good eye for pictures... I thought they were excellent—not only for a first-timer, but it shows that you can get really good pictures with an ordinary compact.
1931S. Jameson Richer Dust xix. 552 The salvage of what a dear dead and let us piously hope well-damned colonel preferred to call the *First World War. 1947Partisan Rev. XIV. 237 The mystique of the working class has faded somewhat since the First World War. 1958Listener 19 June 1020/2 The outbreak of the first world war in the present century.
1390*Ferste youthe [see youth 3]. 1789H. More Let. (1925) 126 She is past her first youth..and subject to caution. 1878H. James Europeans I. i. 7 She was not pretty... Neither was she in her first youth.
b. In attrib. uses of syntactical collocations; see also first class, first-class B, First-day, etc.; generation 4 b.
1741Richardson Pamela IV. lxiii. 419 Has extraordinary Notions of a First-sight Love. 1840[see first cost s.v. first C. 2]. 1859[see first sight s.v. first C. 2]. 1861E. Cowell Diary (1934) 244 The small audience was one of the usual ‘first night’ ‘critical’ ones. 1892W. W. Greener Breech-loader 174 Loaded with first quality powder. 1894[see first night s.v. first C. 2]. 1897Daily News 1 June 3/2 To establish themselves once more in their former first line positions. 1904Conrad Nostromo iii. xiii. 476 A knot of night prowlers..hung about the door of the first-aid hospital. 1904Westm. Gaz. 28 May 2/3 First-category Cossacks of the Chitinsk, Argunsk, and Veckhni Udinsk regiments. 1905Ibid. 14 Mar. 12/1 Any privileges which go with a first⁓cabin ticket. Ibid. 9 June 10/1 A first edition copy of ‘Richard III’. Ibid. 13 Nov. 12/1 The only first-magnitude star in the track of the moon. 1906Daily Chron. 21 July 1/7 The third best first-wicket stand on record. 1909Ibid. 23 July 6/7 Suitable employment, treatment &c., for first-stage patients. Ibid. 9 Aug. 6/4 At least nineteen first-order stations for agricultural investigations. 1912J. F. Hodges Opening & operating Motion Picture Theatre 13 A film being exhibited for the first time is called ‘first run’ film. 1912L. J. Vance Destroying Angel xvi, A light-house—probably a first-order light—with its characteristic flash, not duplicated anywhere along this section of the Atlantic coast. 1926Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 18 July 9/5 First Aid Kits. For the camp or your car. In metal box, up from 75¢. 1930Flight 24 Jan. p. ii, First-line machines, ready for war, over 1,000; reserves, about 800; total, 1,800. 1933Mind XLII. 312 It is certain that Pu will have an eternal first-order Secondary Part. 1934F. Scott Fitzgerald Let. 10 May (1964) 307 It did not have as large a proportion of first-flight stories. 1936World Film News May 28/2 And so we reach the figure of {pstlg}30,000 as the normal minimum cost of a first-feature film. 1936Mind XLV. 171 The difference between a first-order proposition and a second-order proposition (or proposition of second intention)..is that the former says something about the realm of facts, while the latter says something about ‘propositions’. 1940‘G. Orwell’ Inside Whale 56 The two first-person novels are also good stories. 1950N.Y. Times 20 Apr. 1/2 Dr. Sander, accused by the state of first degree murder. 1957L. Fox Two-point Boundry Probl. v. 106 First-order equations are generally amenable only to step-by-step methods. 1960New Left Rev. July–Aug. 2/1 First-strike nuclear weapons. 1961C. C. T. Baker Dict. Math. 131 First⁓order equation, a differential equation containing only the first differential coefficient dy/dx. 1969Daily Tel. 17 Nov. 14 The most sinister aspect of Russia's nuclear expansion is her concentration on a variety of giant ‘first-strike’ weapons, designed to knock out American launchers and control centres. 1970Nature 12 Dec. 1031/2 The reaction follows first-order kinetics. 1971B. de Ferranti Living with Computer 87 First generation computer, an early machine built in the 1950s or early 1960s using valves. 1971It 9–23 Sept. 21/2 The First New York Erotic Film Festival..will be held in first-run Manhattan cinemas.
▸ first responder n. N. Amer. a member of the emergency services who is first on the scene at an (esp. medical) emergency, esp. a member of a fire or police department trained to provide emergency medical care.
1976Color Country Spectrum (St. George, Utah) 12 Sept. 10/3 During recent years there has been an increasing awareness of the significant life-saving role played by *first responders. 1980N.Y. Times 15 Sept. b4/5 There have been repeated efforts to get the Police Department to assume ‘first responder’ first aid responsibilities and train its officers in resuscitation for heart-attack victims. 1997Vancouver Sun 29 Jan. a12/4 Although firefighters have less knowledge, experience and skill in medical matters, it is critical to fire departments that they retain their role as medical ‘first responders’.
▪ III. first, v.|fɜːst|
[f. first a.]
†1. nonce uses.
a. intr. As rendering of Gr. πρωτεύειν: To have the first place, be first.
b. trans. With allusion to the vb. to second (see context): To advance (a person) to the first place.
1625Gill Sacr. Philos. iv. 49 That Hee may bee Εν πᾶσι πρωτεύων firsting, or having the first place or preheminence in all things. 1656S. H. Gold. Law 11 These also will befool you..to gain you to second the King, that so ye may second, and so first them.
†2. trans. To propose (a resolution), ‘move’ (as opposed to ‘seconding’). Obs.
1656Burton's Diary (1828) I. 66 The question in the morning, which was firsted and seconded. 1658Ibid. III. 193 The question which is firsted and seconded.
3. dial. To ‘set out’ with the hoe.
1860Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XXI. ii. 386 The swedes..were not ‘firsted’ until August 6th.
▪ IV. first
see frist n. and v. Obs. |