firstborn
/ˈfɜː(ɹ)stˌbɔː(ɹ)n/
firstborn means born as the first one in a family, flock or the like. It carries an Arena rating of 1344, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, firstborn ranks #2,303 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,790 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #4,944 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #5,217 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
firstborn is pronounced /ˈfɜː(ɹ)stˌbɔː(ɹ)n/.
Why “firstborn” is a great word
The first child born to a parent or family. From Middle English *first borne*, a compound of *first* (“foremost in time or order”) and *born* (“brought into life”). Unlike “primogeniture” (which specifies a legal right of inheritance) or “lastborn” (which marks the opposite end of a sequence), “firstborn” denotes the simple, factual state of initial arrival. It is the small hand that must teach its owners how to be held, the photographed face that appears in no earlier family album, the unwitting pioneer of a family’s hopes and anxieties—a title conferring no special rights, only the irreversible change from which all other family roles descend.
Etymology
From Middle English first borne. By surface analysis, first (adverb) + born.
adj
- Born as the first one in a family, flock or the like.
- Most excellent; most distinguished or exalted.
noun
- The first child to be born to a parent or family.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.