eldertongue

Old English · noun

fierst

Part of speech
noun, masculine / feminine
Declension
strong a-stem
IPA
/fi͜yrst/
[fi͜yrˠst]
Syllables
fi͜yrst (1 syllable)
Modern English
femthresholddoinggrantedceiling

Meaning

  1. time (especially time granted for doing something)

    God lǣt him fierst þæt hē his māndǣda ġeswīce.

    God gives him time to stop his misdeeds.

    c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Lord's Prayer"

  2. threshold, ceiling, inner roof (declined as fem.)

    Efne ðā tōbserst þæs temples wāhryft, fram ðǣre fyrste ufan ōð ðā flōr neoðan,...

    Lo then the temple's veil burst asunder, from the summit above down to the floor beneath,...

    c. 992, Ælfric, "Palm Sunday. On The Lord's Passion"

Declension

Declension of fierst
SingularPlural
Nominative fierstfierstas
Accusative fierstfierstas
Genitive fierstesfiersta
Dative fierstefierstum

All forms (6)

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fristaz, *fristą. Cognate with Middle Dutch verst, Old High German frist (German Frist), Old Norse frest (Swedish frist).

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fierst · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution