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more about first
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6 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: First \First\, 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. 2. Foremost; in front of or in advance of all others 3. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest; as Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece. {At first blush}. See under {Blush}. {At first hand}, from the first or original source; without the intervention of any agent. 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 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. 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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: First \First\, adv 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. --1 Tim. ii 13. {At first}, {At the first}, at the beginning or origin. {First or last}, at one time or another; at the beginning or end And all are fools and lovers first or last --Dryden. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: First \First\, n. (Mus.) The upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; -- so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a pre["e]minence in the combined effect. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: 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}, {intermediate}] 2: indicating the beginning unit in a series [syn: {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}, {maiden}] 4: serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse" [syn: {beginning(a)}] 5: ranking above all others "was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate" [syn: {foremost}, {top(a)}] 6: (music) 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}] 7: being the gear producing the lowest drive speed; "use first gear on steep hills" [syn: {low}] n 1: the first or highest in an ordering or series: "He wanted to be the first" [syn: {number one}] 2: the first element in a countable series; "the first of the month" [syn: {number one}, {number 1}] 3: the time at which something begins; "They got an early start" [syn: {beginning}, {commencement}, {outset}, {start}, {kickoff}, {starting time}, {offset}] [ant: {middle}, {end}] 4: the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first base [syn: {first base}] 5: (Great Britain) an honours degree of the highest class [syn: {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}, {low gear}, {low}] adv 1: before anything else; "first we must consider the garter snake" [syn: {firstly}, {foremost}, {first of all}, {first off}] 2: the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake" [syn: {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}] From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms 13 March 2001 [vera]: FIRST ForschungsInstitut fuer Rechnerarchitektur und SoftwareTechnik (org., GMD, Berlin, Germany) From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms 13 March 2001 [vera]: FIRST Forum of Incident Response and SecuriTy (org., NIST)
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