"erst" meaning in English

See erst in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ɝst/ [General-American], /ɜːst/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-erst.wav [Southern-England]
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)st Etymology: 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”). Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|erste}} Middle English erste, {{inh|en|ang|ǣresta||first}} Old English ǣresta (“first”), {{inh|en|gmw-pro|*airist||earliest, first}} Proto-West Germanic *airist (“earliest, first”), {{suffix|en|ere|est|nocat=1}} ere + -est, {{cog|frr|eerst}} North Frisian eerst, {{m|frr|ærst||first}} ærst (“first”), {{cog|fy|earst||first}} West Frisian earst (“first”), {{cog|nl|eerste||first}} Dutch eerste (“first”), {{cog|de|erste||first}} German erste (“first”) Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} erst (not comparable)
  1. (obsolete) First. Tags: not-comparable, obsolete
    Sense id: en-erst-en-adj-bMuuPFSU Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: arste, yerst [dialectal]
Etymology number: 1

Adverb

IPA: /ɝst/ [General-American], /ɜːst/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-erst.wav [Southern-England]
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)st Etymology: 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. Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|erst}} Middle English erst, {{m|enm|arst}} arst, {{m|enm|erest}} erest, {{inh|en|ang|ǣrest||first, erst, at first, before all}} Old English ǣrest (“first, erst, at first, before all”), {{inh|en|gmw-pro|*airist(ō)||erst}} Proto-West Germanic *airist(ō) (“erst”), {{cog|sco|erst||erst}} Scots erst (“erst”), {{cog|nl|eerst}} Dutch eerst Head templates: {{en-adv|-}} erst (not comparable)
  1. (obsolete) First of all, before (some other specified thing). Tags: not-comparable, obsolete
    Sense id: en-erst-en-adv-HR4BTf46
  2. (obsolete) Sooner (than); before. Tags: not-comparable, obsolete
    Sense id: en-erst-en-adv-RCI8-Qrb
  3. (archaic, poetic) Formerly, once, erstwhile. Tags: archaic, not-comparable, poetic
    Sense id: en-erst-en-adv-dsWHyUUS
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: arste, yerst [dialectal] Derived forms: erstwhile
Etymology number: 2

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for erst meaning in English (5.5kB)

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "erste"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English erste",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ǣresta",
        "4": "",
        "5": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ǣresta (“first”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*airist",
        "4": "",
        "5": "earliest, first"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *airist (“earliest, first”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ere",
        "3": "est",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "ere + -est",
      "name": "suffix"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "eerst"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian eerst",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "ærst",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "ærst (“first”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "earst",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian earst (“first”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "eerste",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch eerste (“first”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "erste",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "German erste (“first”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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”).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "erst (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "First."
      ],
      "id": "en-erst-en-adj-bMuuPFSU",
      "links": [
        [
          "First",
          "first"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) First."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɝst/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɜːst/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)st"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-erst.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "arste"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "word": "yerst"
    }
  ],
  "word": "erst"
}

{
  "categories": [],
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erstwhile"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
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        "3": "erst"
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      "expansion": "Middle English erst",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "arst"
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      "expansion": "arst",
      "name": "m"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "erest"
      },
      "expansion": "erest",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ǣrest",
        "4": "",
        "5": "first, erst, at first, before all"
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      "expansion": "Old English ǣrest (“first, erst, at first, before all”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*airist(ō)",
        "4": "",
        "5": "erst"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *airist(ō) (“erst”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "erst",
        "3": "",
        "4": "erst"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots erst (“erst”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "eerst"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch eerst",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
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      "name": "en-adv"
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  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1567, Arthur Golding, Ovid's Metamorphoses, book 2, line 691",
          "text": "Consider what I erst have been and what thou seest me now:",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "First of all, before (some other specified thing)."
      ],
      "id": "en-erst-en-adv-HR4BTf46",
      "links": [
        [
          "before",
          "before"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) First of all, before (some other specified thing)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "Sooner (than); before."
      ],
      "id": "en-erst-en-adv-RCI8-Qrb",
      "links": [
        [
          "Sooner",
          "sooner"
        ],
        [
          "before",
          "before"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) Sooner (than); before."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "Formerly, once, erstwhile."
      ],
      "id": "en-erst-en-adv-dsWHyUUS",
      "links": [
        [
          "poetic",
          "poetic"
        ],
        [
          "Formerly",
          "formerly"
        ],
        [
          "once",
          "once"
        ],
        [
          "erstwhile",
          "erstwhile"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, poetic) Formerly, once, erstwhile."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "not-comparable",
        "poetic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɝst/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɜːst/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)st"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-erst.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "arste"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "word": "yerst"
    }
  ],
  "word": "erst"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English adjectives",
    "English adverbs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)st",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)st/1 syllable"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
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        "3": "erste"
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      "expansion": "Middle English erste",
      "name": "inh"
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      "args": {
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        "3": "ǣresta",
        "4": "",
        "5": "first"
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      "expansion": "Old English ǣresta (“first”)",
      "name": "inh"
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    {
      "args": {
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    },
    {
      "args": {
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      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian eerst",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "ærst",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "ærst (“first”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "earst",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian earst (“first”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "eerste",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch eerste (“first”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "erste",
        "3": "",
        "4": "first"
      },
      "expansion": "German erste (“first”)",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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”).",
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
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      "expansion": "erst (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with obsolete senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "First."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "First",
          "first"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) First."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɝst/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɜːst/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)st"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-erst.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav.mp3",
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      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "arste"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "word": "yerst"
    }
  ],
  "word": "erst"
}

{
  "categories": [
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    "English adverbs",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)st",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)st/1 syllable"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "erstwhile"
    }
  ],
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  "etymology_templates": [
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        "3": "erst"
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      "expansion": "Middle English erst",
      "name": "inh"
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    {
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      "name": "m"
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        "2": "erest"
      },
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      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
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        "3": "ǣrest",
        "4": "",
        "5": "first, erst, at first, before all"
      },
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      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
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        "4": "",
        "5": "erst"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *airist(ō) (“erst”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "erst",
        "3": "",
        "4": "erst"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots erst (“erst”)",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "eerst"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch eerst",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
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      "expansion": "erst (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with obsolete senses",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1567, Arthur Golding, Ovid's Metamorphoses, book 2, line 691",
          "text": "Consider what I erst have been and what thou seest me now:",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "First of all, before (some other specified thing)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "before",
          "before"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) First of all, before (some other specified thing)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with obsolete senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Sooner (than); before."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Sooner",
          "sooner"
        ],
        [
          "before",
          "before"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete) Sooner (than); before."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English poetic terms",
        "English terms with archaic senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Formerly, once, erstwhile."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "poetic",
          "poetic"
        ],
        [
          "Formerly",
          "formerly"
        ],
        [
          "once",
          "once"
        ],
        [
          "erstwhile",
          "erstwhile"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(archaic, poetic) Formerly, once, erstwhile."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "not-comparable",
        "poetic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɝst/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɜːst/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)st"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-erst.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d4/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-erst.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "arste"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "word": "yerst"
    }
  ],
  "word": "erst"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.