first
(in time, position, group, series)
premier (-ière)
→ ... the first thin flakes of snow ...
→ If it's her first baby, she can't help feeling anxious ...
→ My first reaction was one of horror.
→ My first feeling on getting into the cabin was one of dislike to everything I saw.
→ We had seats in the first row.
the first time la première fois
→ For the first time in our lives ...
to win first prize remporter le premier prix
→ She won first prize.
→ My pig won first prize at Skipton Fair ...
a first prize of £1000 1000 livres en guise de premier prix
→ Imagine winning the local lottery first prize of £5,000.
in the first instance en premier lieu
first thing (adv)
(=before anything else)
I'll do it first thing tomorrow. Je le ferai demain matin à la première heure.
not to know the first thing about sth
(=anything at all) ne rien connaître à qch
We didn't know the first thing about running a restaurant. Nous ne connaissions rien à la gestion d'un restaurant.
(in importance)
premier (-ière)
→ My first duty is to my patients.
→ The first duty of any government must be to protect the interests of the taxpayers
first things first! les choses importantes d'abord !
→ First things first. Pay the victims now.
(=before others) le (la) premier (-ière)
Ralph spoke first. Ralph a parlé le premier.
Jenny arrived first. Jenny est arrivée la première.
to come first (in race)
arriver premier (-ière)
→ Johnson came first in the one hundred metres.
Rachel came first. Rachel est arrivée première.
head first la tête la première
→ He overbalanced and fell head first.
feet first les pieds devant
(=before that) d'abord
→ But first I had to get a visa.
→ "Sit down and eat." - "Give me some matches first."
I want to get a job, but first I have to pass my exams. Je veux trouver du travail, mais d'abord je dois réussir mes examens.
to put sth/sb first
(=give priority to) donner la priorité à qch/qn
→ I always put my children first
→ Put your career first ...
(=for the first time) pour la première fois
They first met in 2002., → Vita and Harold first met in the summer of 1910.
→ two years after they had first started going out , Ils se sont rencontrés pour la première fois en 2002.
(when listing reasons)
en premier lieu, premièrement
→ There were several reasons for this. First, four submarines had been sighted.
first of all tout d'abord, pour commencer
→ First of all, we can encourage people to buy their homes
first off * tout d'abord
→ First off, it's significant that ...
(=person) premier (-ière) m/f
to be the first to do sth être le premier à faire qch
He was the first to film them. Il a été le premier à les filmer.
She was the first to arrive. Elle est arrivée la première.
first come first served les premiers arrivés seront les premiers servis
to be a first for sb être une première pour qn
→ The meeting between financial analysts was a first for the company.
→ It is a first for New York. An outdoor exhibition of Fernando Botero's sculpture on Park Avenue.
(British) first-class degree mention f très bien, licence f avec mention très bien
→ He got a first in French.
(AUTOMOBILES) first gear première f
→ I changed down into first.
(=first day)
the first of January le premier janvier
on the first le premier
(=start)
at first au commencement, au début
→ At first, he seemed surprised by my questions
from the first dès le début
→ I thought from the first that she was a little unsure about that marriage.
from the very first au tout début
first thing The first I heard of it was ... La première fois que j'en ai entendu parler était ... → That was the first we heard of it That was the first I knew of it. Je n'étais pas au courant avant.
first aid
n premiers secours mpl , premiers soins mpl
→ They gave first aid to the victims
first aider
n secouriste mf
first-aid kit
n trousse f à pharmacie, trousse f de premiers secours
first blood
n
to draw first blood remporter le premier round, remporter le premier tour
first blood to sb premier round en faveur de qn, première manche en faveur de qn
first born , first-born
n
(=child) premier-né (première-née) m/f
→ She was my first-born.
first-born
adj premier-né (première-née)
→ He was the first-born son.
first-class , first class
[ticket, carriage] de première classe
→ He won himself two first-class tickets to fly to Dublin.
→ ... a first-class carriage ...
She has booked a first-class ticket. Elle a réservé un billet de première classe.
(=excellent) excellent (e) , exceptionnel (le)
→ The food was first class
→ She has a first-class brain and is a very good writer.
a first-class meal un excellent repas
a first-class stamp un timbre en tarif prioritaire
→ Two first class stamps, please ...
a first-class letter une lettre en tarif prioritaire
→ The price of mailing a first-class letter will not be increasing this year.
[travel, fly] en première classe
→ She had never flown first class before.
to send a letter first class envoyer une lettre en tarif prioritaire
to post a letter first class envoyer une lettre en tarif prioritaire
→ It took six days to arrive despite being posted first class.
first cousin
n cousin (e) m/f germain (e)
first degree
n (UNIVERSITY) licence f
→ He was born in Zimbabwe where he completed his first degree in economics.
first-degree burn
n brûlure f au premier degré
first degree murder
n meurtre m avec préméditation
to be charged with first-degree murder être accusé (e) de meurtre avec préméditation
→ She was charged with first-degree murder ...
first edition
n première édition f
first ever , first-ever
adj tout (e) premier (-ière)
→ It's the first-ever meeting between leaders of the two countries.
first family
n (US)
[+president]
the first family la famille du président
first floor
n
(British)
(=floor above the ground floor) premier étage m
on the first floor au premier étage, au premier
→ The apartment has a balcony and is on the first floor, so no security worries.
(US)
(=ground floor) rez-de-chaussée m
on the first floor au rez-de-chaussée
first-floor
modif
(British, on the floor above the ground floor)
[flat, sitting room, restaurant, balcony] au premier étage
(US)
(=ground-floor)
[apartment] au rez-de-chaussée
→ when he broke into her first-floor apartment at 4:15
first form
n (British) ~sixième f , classe f de sixième
first fruits
npl premiers résultats mpl
→ The deal is one of the first fruits of a liberalization of foreign investment law.
first-generation
adj de la première génération
first grade
n (US) cours m préparatoire
first-grade
adj (US)
[teacher, class, student] du cours préparatoire
first-grader
n élève mf de CP
first hand
n
at first hand directement
→ He had learned about it at first hand
to see sth at first hand constater qch directement
→ He arrived in Natal to see at first hand the effects of the recent heavy fighting.
first hand , firsthand, first-hand
adv
[know, experience, see] directement
→ The Samaritans know this first hand
→ some people want to experience this firsthand
→ We've been through Germany and seen first-hand what's happening there.
first-hand , firsthand
adj
[experience, knowledge] de première main
→ She has little first-hand knowledge of Quebec
→ School trips give children firsthand experience not available in the classroom.
first lady
n
(US)
(=wife of president) première dame f des États-Unis
→ America's First Lady stood on the staircase of the White House.
the first lady of jazz la plus grande dame du jazz
→ ... the first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald.
first language
n première langue f
first lieutenant
n
(British, in navy) lieutenant m de vaisseau
(US, in air force) lieutenant m
first minister , First Minister
n (in Scottish parliament)
chef du parlement écossais chef du parlement écossais
first name
n prénom m
→ Her first name is Mary
first-name
modif
to be on first-name terms s'appeler par son prénom
→ The two were said to have been on first-name terms ...
to be on first-name terms with sb appeler qn par son prénom
→ Jim has been in the company for many years, and is on first-name terms with many of the board of directors.
first night
n (THEATRE)
[+play] première f
first offender
n délinquant (e) m/f primaire
→ Most first offenders now get a two-year sentence.
first officer
n second m
first-past-the-post system
n système m majoritaire à un tour
first person
n (GRAMMAR) première personne f
in the first person à la première personne
→ He tells the story in the first person ...
first-person
modif
[account, narrative] à la première personne
→ His books are always first person narratives.
first person plural
n (GRAMMAR)
the first person plural la première personne du pluriel
first-rate
adj excellent (e)
→ ... a first-rate scientist
first school
n (British) école f primaire
first secretary , First Secretary
n (Welsh) chef m du gouvernement régional gallois
first-time buyer
n (primo-)accédant m à la propriété
first-timer
n débutant (e) m/f
→ Gabrielle entered this year's charts faster than any first-timer before her.
→ No first-timer could write a novel in six weeks and expect to get it published.
First World
n
the First World les pays mpl industrialisés
→ Although South Africa has many of the attributes of the first world - some good infrastructure, millions of rich people - it is still not part of that world.
modif
First World countries pays mpl industrialisés
→ ... wealthy First World countries.
First World War
n
the First World War la Première Guerre mondiale
modif
[general, veteran, battlefield] de la Première Guerre mondiale
first year
[+university course] première année f
(=student) étudiant (e) m/f de première année
modif
[student] de première année
[course] de première année
→ business undergraduates taking a first year course
twenty-first
n twenty-first birthday vingt et unième anniversaire m