firstly
adv/ˈfɜɹstli/
Etymology Coined before 1475, from Middle English fyrst-lyk, equivalent to first + -ly.
1
Formal In the first place; before anything else; first.
- Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants. […] Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
- We'll go into more depth with all the specs shortly so anyone less well versed in espresso speak will understand what I'm harping on about, but firstly let's just talk about using the machine.2025 May 3, Kev, “Rocket Appartamento TCA Review”, in Coffee Blog:
- Synonyms
- first, first of all, first up, 1stly, firstly, first off, in the first place
- Antonyms
- lastly
- Related terms
- at first, in the first place, :Category:English sequence adverbs