erst

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erst

/ɝst/ US
/ɜːst/ UK

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)st

Where it comes from

From Middle English erste, from Old English ǣresta (“first”), from Proto-West Germanic *airist (“earliest, first”), equivalent to ere + -est. Cognate with North Frisian iarst, iáárs, jarst, jest (“first”), West Frisian earst (“first”), Dutch eerste (“first”), German erste (“first”).

adjective arste · yerst

not comparable, obsolete First.

adverb arste · yerst

not comparable, obsolete First of all, before (some other specified thing). Consider what I erst have been and what thou seest me now:
not comparable, obsolete Sooner (than); before. Thenne he sente the varlet ageyne and bad hym telle Kyng Mark that I wille come as soone as I am hole / for erste I maye doo hym noo good "Then he sent the varlet again, and bade him: Tell King Mark that I will come as soon as I am whole, for erst I may do him no good. "
archaic, not comparable, poetic Formerly, once, erstwhile. When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd

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MLA

"erst." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/erst. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

erst. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/erst

Chicago

"erst." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/erst.

BibTeX

@misc{erst_2026,
  title = {erst},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/erst},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}