- Obs. at first; originally
- Archaic formerly
Origin of erst
Middle English erest from Old English ærest, superlative of ær: see ereOrigin of erst
Middle English erest from Old English ærest, superlative of ær: see ere
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adverb
ArchaicOrigin of erst
Middle English erest from Old English ǣrest ; see ayer- in Indo-European roots.
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From Middle English erste, from Old English ǣresta (“first”), from Proto-Germanic *airistaz (“earliest, first”), equivalent to ere + -est. Cognate with North Frisian eerst, ærst (“first”), West Frisian earst (“first”), Dutch eerste (“first”), German erste (“first”).
From Middle English erst, arst, erest, from Old English ǣrest (“first, erst, at first, before all”), from Proto-Germanic *airist (“erst”). Cognate with Scots erst (“erst”), Dutch eerst.
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