firsthand meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

firsthand

adj

UK /ˈfɜːstˌhænd/ · CA, US /ˈfɝstˌhænd/

Etymology From first + hand.

Direct, without intermediate stages.

firsthand knowledge
I recently received a firsthand report from an old friend — John A. Keel — who until last year was as skeptical a newshound as I have known.1967, Ivan Terence Sanderson, Uninvited Visitors:

4 more examples

Ours is a generation of aromantics, jaded about matters of the heart — often before gaining firsthand experience.1986, Wanda Urbanska, The Singular Generation, Doubleday & Company, published 1986, →ISBN, page 86:
1990 March, Cliff Gromer, Firsthand Report: Yamaha WaveRunner III, Popular Mechanics.
Given Mr. Kissinger’s firsthand experience in the anguishing decisions about withdrawal from Vietnam, the disclosure sparked the inevitable Iraq-Vietnam comparisons that Mr. Bush has assiduously sought to avoid.2007 January 2, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Kissinger’s Appearance Revives Memories of Vietnam Era”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 22 May 2020:
But in his strongest criticism yet of the superdatabase, Sir Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, who has firsthand experience of working with intelligence and law enforcement agencies, told the Guardian such assurances would prove worthless in the long run...2008 December 31, Alan Travis, Richard Norton-Taylor, “Private firm may track all email and calls”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 13 Sep 2018:

Not previously owned or used; contrasted with secondhand.

a firsthand copy

Derived terms: firsthand learning

firsthand

adv

UK /ˌfɜːstˈhænd/ · CA, US /ˌfɝstˈhænd/

Etymology From first + hand.

Directly or from personal experience.

Hell and tarnations, I've known them for muddleheads and blockheads half my life, and firsthand, but I sure didn't expect them to take leave of their senses, insulting our office of President, making our Party into a white demagogue's party, slapping the Negro vote in the face.1964, Irving Wallace, The Man, page 537:
In the course of three intensive days in and around Guiyu's four villages, the small investigative team witnessed firsthand what passes for recycling of e-waste in Asia.2002, Jim Puckett, 5:35 from the start, in Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia, spoken by Mary Ryan, Basel Action Network, →OCLC:

4 more examples

2003, Katherine Edgar, “Levant”, in Jennifer Speake, Literature of Travel and Exploration: G to P However, the romantic subjective approach persisted, allowing the nontraveling reader the illusion of experiencing the region at firsthand, […]
He wasn't a gabber, nor a squawker not a ratfink nor a snitch. He wasn't a whistleblower. He wasn't a gossip. He didn't talk about someone behind their back. Banks knew that firsthand because he had tried on several occasions to get Quinley to talk about other people, and Quinley would never do it. He'd laugh and change the subject.2007, Ichabauk Rum, “Handra Delamore”, in Ill: A Novel: Book One, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 63:
Howard Davidowitz, who has studied consumer habits firsthand for decades, said that in the last three years he has seen more cash purchases at luxury boutiques like Louis Vuitton and semiluxury chains like Coach. Mr. Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consulting firm, suspects now that $2,000 handbags and $700 shoes are commonplace, more women pay in fresh bills from the A.T.M. to cover their tracks.2007 January 14, Shivani Vora, “Money Doesn’t Talk”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Nov 2020:
In 2000 America witnessed the bare-knuckle tactics of the GOP firsthand in Florida — tactics that included intimidation of black voters, phony felon lists, hired thugs sent by Tom DeLay to stop the recount, a secretary of state who did all that could be done to push the election in Bush's favor, and so on.2007, Elliot D. Cohen, Bruce W. Fraser, The Last Days of Democracy: How Big Media and Power-hungry Government are Turning America into a Dictatorship, →ISBN, page 278: