Talk:first

Adverb?
firstly says it is an adverb and an alternative to first, but there's no adverb entry here


 * That’s because first is both an adjective and its own adverb. Example of adverbial usage: If you’re coming over, call first. I first visited Canada in 1990. The word firstly, although an adverb and a derivation of first, is a separate word and is not a regular adverb of first. —Stephen 19:58, 17 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I think then that Stephen, you agree, with whoever wrote the first note, and provided nice examples of first used as adverb. Or, do you have have in mind a use of first as simultaneously adjective and adverb and neglected to provide an example? I do think an adverb section is warranted. Makearney 17:59, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

etymology of First.
It would seem to me that first comes from fore+-est meaning that it is, essentially, the foremost. Other words have similar origins; near was once nigher. The German equivalent is erst seemingly from eher (before) and -est, superlative. Perhaps this word evolved a long time ago in the germanic languages, but I have looked around and seen no ultimate origin of first. I will, of course, not stick this in the article as the etymology as it is only my own musing.

Here is a website that agrees: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=first&searchmode=none.


 * www.etymonline.com is a very reputable etymology site that can be trusted. —Stephen 16:21, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Cognate with Ukrainian and Russian
I think this word is a cognate with Ukrainian 'перший' an Russian 'первый'.—GPodkolzin  Talk 05:49, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

Locative
Why is this in Category:English locatives? GaylordFancypants (talk)
 * I boldly went ahead and removed much and first from that category. GaylordFancypants (talk)

the first the earliest
The first I heard about the wedding (= the first time I became aware of it) was when... --Backinstadiums (talk) 14:45, 21 August 2020 (UTC)


 * Arguable. In most cases this could be parsed as "the first [thing] I heard about the wedding", rather than the first time. Equinox ◑ 22:20, 21 August 2020 (UTC)
 * (Noun, the first) 2. (plural the first) Sheila and Jim were the first to arrive. --Backinstadiums (talk) 12:12, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

from first to last
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/from+first+to+last --Backinstadiums (talk) 15:00, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

at first
While indirect communication is ubiquitous, indirect speech acts are less common than might first appear. JMGN (talk) 19:14, 23 March 2023 (UTC)