1.  first(n = noun.linkdef) number one - the first or highest in an ordering or series; "He wanted to be the first"
is a kind of rank
has particulars: former

2.  first(n = noun.quantity) number 1, number one - the first element in a countable series; "the first of the month"
is a kind of no., ordinal, ordinal number

3.  first(n = noun.time) beginning, commencement, get-go, kickoff, offset, outset, showtime, start, starting time - 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"
is a kind of point, point in time
has particulars: birth, incipience, incipiency, starting point, terminus a quo, threshold

4.  first(n = noun.act) first base - 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);
is a kind of position
is a member of baseball team

5.  first(n = noun.communication) first-class honours degree - an honours degree of the highest class;
is a kind of honours, honours degree
has particulars: double first

6.  first(n = noun.artifact) first gear, low, low gear - the lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving;
is a kind of gear, gear mechanism
is a part of auto, automobile, car, machine, motorcar

1.  first(r = adv.all) first of all, first off, firstly, foremost - before anything else; "first we must consider the garter snake"

2.  first(r = adv.all) for the first time - the initial time; "when Felix first saw a garter snake"

3.  first(r = adv.all) - before another in time, space, or importance; "I was here first"; "let's do this job first"

4.  first(r = adv.all) foremost - prominently forward; "he put his best foot foremost"

1.  first(a = adj.all) - 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"
Antonym: last

2.  first(s = adj.all) 1st - indicating the beginning unit in a series;

3.  first(s = adj.all) inaugural, initiative, initiatory, maiden - 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"

4.  first(s = adj.all) beginning - serving to begin; "the beginning canto of the poem"; "the first verse"

5.  first(s = adj.all) foremost, world-class - ranking above all others; "was first in her class"; "the foremost figure among marine artists"; "the top graduate"

6.  first(a = adj.all) - highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections; "first soprano"; "the first violin section"; "played first horn"
Antonym: second

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]
"It is the intention of the person to reveal it at first hand, by way of mouth, to yourself."
"See, Father, what first fruits on earth are sprung
From thy implanted grace in man!"

   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." [1913 Webster]
"And all are fools and lovers first or last." [1913 Webster]

   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. [1913 Webster]

first, adj., n., & adv.
--adj.
1 a earliest in time or order. b coming next after a specified or implied time (shall take the first train; the first cuckoo).
2 foremost in position, rank, or importance (First Lord of the Treasury; first mate).
3 Mus. performing the highest or chief of two or more parts for the same instrument or voice.
4 most willing or likely (should be the first to admit the difficulty).
5 basic or evident (first principles).
--n.
1 (prec. by the) the person or thing first mentioned or occurring.
2 the first occurrence of something notable.
3 a a place in the first class in an examination. b a person having this.
4 the first day of a month.
5 first gear.
6 a first place in a race. b the winner of this.
7 (in pl.) goods of the best quality.
--adv.
1 before any other person or thing (first of all; first and foremost; first come first served).
2 before someone or something else (must get this done first).
3 for the first time (when did you first see her?).
4 in preference; rather (will see him damned first).
5 first-class (I usually travel first).

Idiom:
at first at the beginning. at first hand directly from the original source. first aid help given to an injured person until proper medical treatment is available. first and last taking one thing with another, on the whole. first blood see BLOOD. first-born adj. eldest.
--n. the eldest child of a person. First Cause the Creator of the universe. first class
1 a set of persons or things grouped together as the best.
2 the best accommodation in a train, ship, etc.
3 the class of mail given priority in handling.
4 a the highest division in an examination list. b a place in this.
first-class adj.
1 belonging to or travelling by the first class.
2 of the best quality; very good.
--adv. by the first class (travels first-class). first cousin see COUSIN. first-day cover an envelope with stamps postmarked on their first day of issue. first-degree Med. denoting burns that affect only the surface of the skin, causing reddening. first finger the finger next to the thumb. first floor see FLOOR. first-foot Sc. n. the first person to cross a threshold in the New Year.
--v.intr. be a first-foot. first-fruit (usu. in pl.)
1 the first agricultural produce of a season, esp. as offered to God.
2 the first results of work etc.
3 hist. a payment to a superior by the new holder of an office. first gear see GEAR. first intention see INTENTION. First Lady (in the US) the wife of the President. first lesson the first of several passages from the Bible read at a service in the Church of England. first lieutenant US an army or air force officer next below captain. first light the time when light first appears in the morning. first mate (on a merchant ship) the officer second in command to the master. first name a personal or Christian name. first night the first public performance of a play etc. first-nighter a habitual attender of first nights. first off US colloq. at first, first of all. first offender a criminal against whom no previous conviction is recorded. first officer the mate on a merchant ship. first or last sooner or later.
first past the post
1 winning a race etc. by being the first to reach the finishing line.
2 (of an electoral system) selecting a candidate or party by simple majority (see also proportional representation, single transferable vote). first person see PERSON. first post see POST(3). first-rate adj. of the highest class, excellent.
--adv. colloq.
1 very well (feeling first-rate).
2 excellently. first reading the occasion when a Bill is presented to a legislature to permit its introduction. first refusal see REFUSAL. first school Brit. a school for children from 5 to 9 years old. first sergeant US the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in a company. first-strike denoting a first aggressive attack with nuclear weapons. first thing colloq. before anything else; very early in the morning (shall do it first thing). the first thing even the most elementary fact or principle (does not know the first thing about it). first things first the most important things before any others (we must do first things first). first up Austral. first of all; at the first attempt. from the first from the beginning. from first to last throughout. get to first base US achieve the first step towards an objective. in the first place as the first consideration. of the first water see WATER.

Etymology:
OE fyrst f. Gmc

N  beginning, commencement, opening, outset, incipience, inception, inchoation, introduction, alpha, initial, inauguration, debut, le premier pas, embarcation, rising of the curtain, maiden speech, outbreak, onset, brunt, initiative, move, first move, narrow end of the wedge, thin end of the wedge, fresh start, new departure, origin, source, rise, bud, germ, egg, rudiment, genesis, primogenesis, birth, nativity, cradle, infancy, start, inception, creation, starting point, dawn, evolution, title-page, head, heading, van, caption, fatihah, entrance, entry, inlet, orifice, mouth, chops, lips, porch, portal, portico, propylon, door, gate, gateway, postern, wicket, threshold, vestibule, propylaeum, skirts, border, first stage, first blush, first glance, first impression, first sight, rudiments, elements, outlines, grammar, alphabet, ABC, beginning, initial, initiatory, initiative, inceptive, introductory, incipient, proemial, inaugural, inchoate, inchoative, embryonic, rudimental, primogenial, primeval, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, natal, nascent, first, foremost, leading, maiden, begun, just begun, at the beginning, in the beginning first, in the first place, imprimis, first and foremost, in limine, in the bud, in embryo, in its infancy, from the beginning, from its birth, ab initio, ab ovo, ab incunabilis, ab origine, let's get going!, let's get this show on the road!, up and at 'em!, aller Anfang ist schwer, dimidium facti qui coepit habet, omnium rerum principia parva sunt.

at first, at first blush, at first glance, at first sight, double first, first aid, first amendment, first and foremost, first and last, first appearance, first balcony, first baron beveridge, first baron kelvin, first baron lytton, first baron macaulay, first baron marks of broughton, first baron passfield, first baron rutherford, first baron rutherford of nelson, first baron tennyson, first base, first baseman, first battle of ypres, first blush, first cause, first class, first council of constantinople, first council of lyons, first council of nicaea, first cousin, first cranial nerve, first crusade, first degree, first derivative, first draft, first duke of marlborough, first duke of wellington, first earl kitchener of khartoum, first earl of beaconsfield, first earl of chatham, first earl of orford, first earl wavell, first epistle of john, first epistle of paul the apostle to the corinthia, first epistle of paul the apostle to the thessalon, first epistle of paul the apostle to timothy, first epistle of peter, first epistle to the corinthians, first epistle to the thessalonians, first epistle to timothy, first estate, first floor, first gear, first grade, first half, first harmonic, first impression, first in first out, first lady, first language, first lateran council, first law of motion, first law of thermodynamics, first lieutenant, first light, first lord of the treasury, first marquess cornwallis, first mate, first moment, first mortgage, first move, first name, first of all, first of may, first of october antifascist resistance group, first off, first offender, first period, first person, first place, first principle, first prize, first quarter, first rate, first reading, first rudiment, first sacker, first sergeant, first state, first step, first stomach, first strike, first string, first team, first thing, first trimester, first vatican council, first viscount haldane of cloan, first viscount nuffield, first water, first world war, for the first time, in the first place, kepler's first law, last in first out, newton's first law, newton's first law of motion, right of first publication, sergeant first class, when first seen