Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “ferst” come from?

ferst (Middle English) comes from Old English fyrest, from Proto-Germanic furist, from Proto-Germanic furistaz, from Proto-Germanic furi, from Proto-Indo-European preh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

Ancestry of “ferst”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishfyrestfirst
2Proto-Germanicfuristat first, firstly, in the first place
3Proto-Germanicfuristazfirst, foremost
4Proto-Germanicfurifor, before; before, forward
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
6Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “ferst”

  • firsthand
  • firstly
  • firstborn
  • headfirst
  • firstling
  • firstness
  • feetfirst
  • facefirst
  • firstcomer
  • firstie
  • firster
  • standfirst
  • firstripe
  • fyrst
  • interfirst
  • ファースト
  • ファーストキス
  • fosi
  • first
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →