Etymology

firstly

first·ly
F4I1R1S1T1L1Y4

Today it means: In the first place; before anything else; first. Full definition →

Middle English fyrst-lyk
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromfyrst-lyk
  2. English todayfirstly

Coined before 1475, from Middle English fyrst-lyk, equivalent to first + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.