firstfruit
nounEtymology From Middle English firste fruyt, equivalent to first + fruit.
1
An offering of the first of the harvest; firstfruits.
2
The first growth, allegory for the first people to receive the message.
- For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 11:16:
3
Ceremony in Southern Africa, notably among the Zulu and Swazi peoples, in which the paramount chief is the first to eat from the new harvest.
- Related terms
- forefruit