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firstborn

firstborn

5 2.4
Born first among a person's children
  • adjective
  • /ˈfɜrstˌbɔrn/
translation icon : primogénito
  • "Is it okay for me to enter 'Jonathan' as my first name?" I asked my firstborn daughter.
  • firstborn son

Examples

  • As the firstborn child in her family, Emily often felt the pressure to set a good example for her younger siblings.

  • Fahmi was the firstborn son, and he was responsible for the family.

    Blog text (22)
  • Ten of the children were firstborn, six were second born, and one was born third.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Participants often felt special in the family because of their position within the structure of the family: being firstborn or being the only girl.

    Academic text (1998)
  • The birthright was a special honor given to the firstborn son.

    Blog text (1)
  • And we have Prophet Abraham in the Bible, who was asked to sacrifice his firstborn son to God.

    Blog text (23)
  • As Ben II's firstborn son, he had accompanied his father on family pilgrimages from North Carolina to Georgia and Florida.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Being the firstborn son, Liam was given the responsibility of leading the family during gatherings.

  • Traditionally, the firstborn daughter inherits the family heirloom passed down through generations.

Synonyms

eldest
vsfirstborn
3 1.2

Older than other children in the same family

is specifically the child born first in the sibling order
firstling
vsfirstborn
  • Archaic
9.9

A person, animal, or thing that comes before others in a group

refers only to the child born first among siblings

Compounds

A Jewish fast kept by firstborn sons the day before Passover to remember how they were saved in Egypt

Surface Forms

firstborn positive

Morphology

firstborn = first + born (transparent) = first + born

The adjective meaning 'eldest; born first' is the direct adjectival use of the compound 'first' + 'born' and is easily inferred from its parts.

Etymology

Firstborn is made of first 'number one' and born 'brought into life', and as an adjective it means 'eldest' — the child born before their siblings.