first of all
"first-of-all" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“first of all” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Firstly; before anything else.
Corpus desk
Index EN-first-of-all · first of all · English
first of all · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | first of all |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “first of all” in English
Rare enough to double-check
first of all is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Firstly; before anything else.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for first of all in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is first of all, spelled F-I-R-S-T- -O-F- -A-L-L.
Definition
- 1Firstly; before anything else.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how first of all appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Be strong, live happie, and love, but first of all / Him whom to love is to obey, and keep / His great command; […]
"My dear sir," said Hube in an authoritative manner to the receptionist askancing Thales, "first of all, we aren't tourists. Secondly, this isn't a rat, this is the present embodiment of the spiritual leader of millions of people in India […]
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.