first

• 

  THE FIRST VIEW
• WordNet 3.6
  • adj first ranking above all others "was first in her class","the foremost figure among marine artists","the top graduate"
  • adj first serving to begin "the beginning canto of the poem","the first verse"
  • adj first 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"
  • adj first 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"
  • adj first highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections "first soprano","the first violin section","played first horn"
  • adj first indicating the beginning unit in a series
  • adv first before anything else "first we must consider the garter snake"
  • adv first the initial time "when Felix first saw a garter snake"
  • adv first prominently forward "he put his best foot foremost"
  • adv first before another in time, space, or importance "I was here first","let's do this job first"
  • n first 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)
  • n first the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving
  • n first an honours degree of the highest class
  • n first the first element in a countable series "the first of the month"
  • n first the first or highest in an ordering or series "He wanted to be the first"
  • n first 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"
  • ***

Additional illustrations & photos:

The First Post-office in the Sky

"'I saw it first—'tis mine—let go!'"

First time in two weeks

First regiment Zouave

The first page of The Story of the Glittering Plain

THE GROVES WERE GOD'S FIRST TEMPLES

TOBY'S FIRST NIGHT RIDE

THE FIRST LESSON

• Interesting fact: The first TONKA truck was made in 1947
• • adv First fẽrst Before any other person or thing in time, space, rank, etc.; -- much used in composition with adjectives and participles. "Adam was first formed, then Eve.""And all are fools and lovers first or last ."
  • First Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others.
  • First Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest; as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.
  • First 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.
  • n First (Mus) The upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; -- so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a preëminence in the combined effect.
  • ***

• Interesting fact: Weatherman Willard Scott was the first Ronald McDonald
• • first Being before all others; being the initial unit or aggregate in order of occurrence or arrangement as to time, place, or rank: the ordinal of one.
  • first Foremost in time; preceding all others of the kind in order of time: as, Adam was the first man; I was the first guest to arrive.
  • first Foremost in place; before all others from the point of view or consideration: as, the first man in a rank or line.
  • first Foremost in importance or estimation; before or superior to all others in character, quality, or degree: as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece; the part of first villain in a play; wheat of the first grade; specifically, in music, highest or chief among several voices or instruments of the same class: as, first alto; first horn.
  • first Synonyms Primary, primordial, original, primitive, pristine, earliest. See comparison under primary.
  • first Highest, chief, principal, capital, foremost, leading.
  • n first That which is first; the beginning. or that which makes or constitutes a beginning.
  • n first In music: The voice or instrument that takes the highest or chief part in its class, especially in an orchestra or chorus; a leader of a part or group of performers.
  • n first The interval and concord of the unison or prime. See unison and prime.
  • n first Same as first base (which see, above).
  • n first The highest rank in an examination for honors: as, he got a first in mathematics. See double-first.
  • n first Immediately.
  • first Before all others in place or progression, rank, order of time, etc.
  • first Hence Sooner; before doing or suffering (that is, so as not to do or suffer) some act or result: as, I will not do it, I will die first.
  • n first Time; time granted; respite: same as frist.
  • ***

• Interesting fact: The first restaurant to open in Hollywood was the Musso & Frank Grill in 1919
• • adj First fėrst foremost: preceding all others in place, time, or degree: most eminent: chief
  • adv First before anything else, in time, space, rank, &c
  • n First the first in the order of birth: the eldest child
  • ***

• Mexican Proverb

  

  “He who strikes first, strikes twice.”
• Julius Caesar

  

  “I would rather be first in a little Iberian village than second in Rome.”
• Fred A. Allen

  

  “The first thing that strikes a visitor to Paris is a taxi.”
• Heywood Broun

  

  “A technical objection is the first refuge of a scoundrel.”
• Bill Walsh

  

  “We have a lot of players in their first year. Some of them are also in their last year.”
• Yogi Berra

  

  “You have to give 100 percent in the first half of the game. If that isn't enough, in the second half, you have to give what is left.”

In literature:

In poetry:

In news:

In science: