firstling
English
Etymology
Noun
firstling (plural firstlings)
- The first produce or result, notably firstborn offspring.
- Template:RQ:Authorized Version, Genesis 4:4:
- And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
- Template:RQ:Authorized Version, Genesis 4:4:
- The first of a class or kind.
- The thing first thought or done.
- 1603-06, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, act 4, scene 1:
- From this moment the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.
- 1603-06, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, act 4, scene 1:
Adjective
firstling
- Firstborn.
- Template:RQ:Authorized Version, Deuteronomy 15:19:
- All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
- Template:RQ:Authorized Version, Deuteronomy 15:19:
References
- “firstling”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “firstling”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.