Meanings
nounfirstborn (plural firstborn or firstborns)
plural firstborns
- The first child to be born to a parent or family.
adjectivefirstborn (not comparable)
alternative first-born
- not comparableBorn as the first one in a family, flock or the like.
Shaylene Marie Farrell was born on June 19, 1976, as the firstborn daughter of Darlene Farrell.
2026 August 6, Nicholas Muhoro, “An Ohio Teen Vanished During a One-Mile Drive in 1994. Her Locked Car Was Found Hours Later”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2026 - not comparableMost excellent; most distinguished or exalted.
Synonyms & antonyms
antonym(s) of “eldest child”
Opposite
antonym(s) of “born first”
Opposite
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishfirst borne
- Englishfirstborn
From Middle English first borne. By surface analysis, first (adverb) + born.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πρωτότοκος
- πρωτότοκος (prōtótokos)born as the first one in a family
Arabic بِكْر
- بِكْر (bikr)the first child in a family
Bulgarian първоро́ден, първене́ц
- първоро́ден (părvoróden)the first child in a family
- първене́ц (părvenéc)the first child in a family
- първороден (părvoroden)born as the first one in a family
Catalan primogènit, primogènita
- primogènitthe first child in a family
- primogènitathe first child in a family
- primogènitborn as the first one in a family
Czech prvorozený, prvorozený
- prvorozenýthe first child in a family
- prvorozenýborn as the first one in a family
Dutch eersteling, eerstgeborene
- eerstelingthe first child in a family
- eerstgeborenethe first child in a family
Esperanto unuenaskito
- unuenaskitothe first child in a family
Finnish esikoinen, esikois-
- esikoinenthe first child in a family
- esikois-born as the first one in a family
- vanhinborn as the first one in a family
- ykkös-most excellent or distinguished
- vanhinmost excellent or distinguished
French premier-né, aîné
- premier-néthe first child in a family
- aînéthe first child in a family
- ainéthe first child in a family
German Erstgeborene, m
- Erstgeborenethe first child in a family
- mthe first child in a family
- erstgeborenborn as the first one in a family
Hebrew בְּכוֹר
- בְּכוֹר (b'khór)the first child in a family
Hindi अग्रज, अग्रजा
- अग्रज (agraj)the first child in a family
- अग्रजा (agrajā)the first child in a family
Hungarian elsőszülött, elsőszülött
- elsőszülöttthe first child in a family
- elsőszülöttborn as the first one in a family
Indonesian anak sulung, sulung
- anak sulungthe first child in a family
- sulungborn as the first one in a family
Irish céadghin
- céadghinthe first child in a family
Italian primogenito, primogenito
- primogenitothe first child in a family
- primogenitoborn as the first one in a family
Japanese 長子, 総領
- 長子 (chōshi)the first child in a family
- 総領 (sōryō)the first child in a family
- 初子the first child in a family
- 初生 (shosei)the first child in a family
- 長男 (chōnan)the first child in a family
- 長女 (chōjo)the first child in a family
Korean 맏이
- 맏이 (maji)the first child in a family
Latin prīmōgenitus
- prīmōgenitusborn as the first one in a family
Lithuanian pirmagimis
- pirmagimisborn as the first one in a family
Malay anak sulung
- anak sulungthe first child in a family
Māori mātāmua, muanga
- mātāmuathe first child in a family
- muangathe first child in a family
- tamāroathe first child in a family
- tamaaroathe first child in a family
- mātāmuaborn as the first one in a family
- muangaborn as the first one in a family
Persian نخری
- نخری (noxri)the first child in a family
Polish pierworodny, pierworodny
- pierworodnythe first child in a family
- pierworodnyborn as the first one in a family
- pierwsza klasamost excellent or distinguished
Portuguese primogénito, primogênito
- primogénitothe first child in a family
- primogênitothe first child in a family
- morgadothe first child in a family
- primogénitoborn as the first one in a family
- primogênitoborn as the first one in a family
Romanian primul născut, prima născută
- primul născutthe first child in a family
- prima născutăthe first child in a family
Russian пе́рвенец, перворождённый
- пе́рвенец (pérvenec)the first child in a family
- перворождённый (pervoroždjónnyj)the first child in a family
Scottish Gaelic ciad-ghin
- ciad-ghinthe first child in a family
Slovak prvorodený, prvorodený
- prvorodenýthe first child in a family
- prvorodenýborn as the first one in a family
Spanish primogénito, primogénita
- primogénitothe first child in a family
- primogénitathe first child in a family
Swahili mwanambee, kifungua mimba
- mwanambeethe first child in a family
- kifungua mimbathe first child in a family
- chuderethe first child in a family
Swedish förstfödd, förstfödd
- förstföddthe first child in a family
- förstföddborn as the first one in a family
Tagalog panganay, panganay
- panganaythe first child in a family
- panganayborn as the first one in a family
Turkish ilkdoğan
- ilkdoğanthe first child in a family
Welsh plentyn cyntaf-anedig, cyntaf-anedig
- plentyn cyntaf-anedigthe first child in a family
- cyntaf-anedigborn as the first one in a family
Yiddish בכור
- בכור (bkhor)the first child in a family
Cite this entry
APA
firstborn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firstborn
MLA
“firstborn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firstborn. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “firstborn,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/firstborn.
Source: firstborn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.