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erst, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
erst in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English erste, from Old English ǣresta (“first”), from Proto-West Germanic *airist (“earliest, first”), equivalent to ere + -est. Cognate with North Frisian eerst, ærst (“first”), West Frisian earst (“first”), Dutch eerste (“first”), German erste (“first”).
Adjective
erst (not comparable)
- (obsolete) First.
Etymology 2
From Middle English erst, arst, erest, from Old English ǣrest (“first, erst, at first, before all”), from Proto-West Germanic *airist(ō) (“erst”). Cognate with Scots erst (“erst”), Dutch eerst.
Adverb
erst (not comparable)
- (obsolete) First of all, before (some other specified thing).
1567, Arthur Golding, Ovid's Metamorphoses, book 2, line 691:Consider what I erst have been and what thou seest me now:
- (obsolete) Sooner (than); before.
1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xxviij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:Thenne he sente the varlet ageyne and bad hym telle Kyng Mark that I wille come as soone as I am hole / for erste I maye doo hym noo good
"Then he sent the varlet again, and bade him: Tell King Mark that I will come as soon as I am whole, for erst I may do him no good. "- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- (archaic, poetic) Formerly, once, erstwhile.
Quotations
Derived terms
Anagrams
- 'rest, -estr-, -ster, -ster-, ERTs, REST, Rest., SERT, TERs, estr-, rest, rest., rets, tres
German
Etymology
See the numeral erster.
Pronunciation
Adverb
erst
- first, at first
- Synonym: zuerst
- only (with progress, accomplishments or the present time)
- Sie ist erst 28 Jahre alt. ― She is only 28 years old.
- Es ist erst halb zehn. ― It is only half past nine.
- not until, not for, not before (with reference to a point or period of time in the future)
Ich bin erst nächsten Monat in Urlaub.- I'm not on vacation until next month.
Mein Bruder kommt erst in drei Wochen an.- My brother's not arriving for three weeks.
- only, as recently as (with reference to the past)
- Er ist erst gestern gegangen. ― He left only yesterday.
- Er ist erst seit zwei Tagen da. ― He has only been here for two days.
- Short for erstmal.
Es ist kalt im Süden. Und im Norden erst!- It is cold in the South. And especially in the North.
- (Switzerland) Synonym of zumal
2021 January 21, Timo Posselt, “Bis der Server zusammenbricht”, in wobei (Die Beilage der WOZ), page 17:Wer lieber Arthousefilme streamt, findet bei Filmingo, Myfilm und Cinefile lokale Alternativen, die erst noch regelmässig ihre Steuern zahlen.- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
- With reference to time periods and moments, the opposite of erst is schon. Erst emphasizes how long it is until something happens or how recently it has happened, whereas schon how soon in the future or far in the past. Thus:
- erst in drei Wochen ― not for three weeks
- schon in drei Wochen ― in only three weeks
- With reference to progress and the like, erst emphasizes how young or short, while schon emphasizes how old or long. Thus:
- Sie ist erst 28 Jahre alt ― She's only 28
- Sie ist schon 28 Jahre alt ― She's already 28
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “erst” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Old Frisian
Pronunciation
Adjective
ērst
- Alternative form of ērest
References
- Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN