first light

\ˈfɜːst ˈlaɪt\

/\ˈfɜːst ˈlaɪt\/ noun

The verdict

“first light” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Aurore, levée du jour.

Corpus desk

Index FR-first-light · first light · French

first light · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for first light
PropertyValue
Headwordfirst light
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈfɜːst ˈlaɪt\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « first light » en français

first lightsiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

first light is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈfɜːst ˈlaɪt\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Aurore, levée du jour.".

first light doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is first light, spelled F-I-R-S-T- -L-I-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Aurore, levée du jour.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how first light appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Get your winks while you can ’cause we’re goin’ fishing at first light.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "first light"?
"first light" is spelled F-I-R-S-T- -L-I-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈfɜːst ˈlaɪt\.
What does "first light" mean?
As a noun, "first light" means: Aurore, levée du jour.
How do you pronounce "first light"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "first light" is \ˈfɜːst ˈlaɪt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "first light" come from?
"first light" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list