firstly
first·ly/ˈfɜɹstli/adverb
firstly is spelled F-I-R-S-T-L-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables (first·ly). It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, firstly means “In the first place; before anything else; first” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in firstly?
| Letters | 7: F-I-R-S-T-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: first·ly |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is firstly?
Firstly appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce firstly?
- /ˈfɜɹstli/
Firstly has 2 syllables, split first·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-firstly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of firstly
- 1stly
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does firstly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In the first place; before anything else; first.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Firstly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in the first place:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | d'abord, premièrement, en premier lieu, primo, avant tout |
| German | erstens |
| Portuguese | primeiramente |
| Spanish | primeramente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does firstly come from?
Coined before 1475, from Middle English fyrst-lyk, equivalent to first + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).