πρῶτος G4413
First in sequence, time, or rank; chief or foremost person; by extension, best in quality or first in logical priority.
In the New Testament, this adjective covers a wide semantic range rooted in the idea of being at the front. Most often it marks ordinal position — the first day, the first covenant, the first commandment — appearing roughly 90 times in that straightforward sense. But Greek πρῶτος also serves as a title of rank: the 'chief men' of a city or the 'leading' citizens (Mark 6:21, Acts 13:50). Spanish captures this social nuance with 'principales' (principal ones), while the ordinal sense stays as 'primero.' In a memorable scene, the father calls for the 'best' robe for the prodigal son (Luke 15:22), where Spanish shifts to 'mejor' — revealing a qualitative superlative sense distinct from mere sequence.
4. best, foremost in quality — A superlative qualitative sense meaning 'best' or 'finest' rather than sequential position. The single clear instance is the father's command to bring the 'first' (i.e., best) robe for the returning prodigal son (Luke 15:22). Spanish shifts to 'mejor' (better/best), revealing that the audience heard not 'first robe on the rack' but 'finest robe in the house' — a qualitative apex rather than an ordinal marker. 1×
AR["أَوَّلَى"]·ben["প্রথমটি"]·DE["erster"]·EN["first"]·FR["premier"]·heb["רִאשׁוֹנָה"]·HI["उत्तम"]·ID["terbaik"]·IT["primo"]·jav["paling-sae,"]·KO["가장-좋은"]·PT["melhor"]·RU["лучшую"]·ES["mejor"]·SW["nzuri"]·TR["en-iyi"]·urd["اول"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. first in order or time — The dominant usage denoting first position in a sequence or temporal order — first day, first covenant, first commandment. Cross-linguistically stable: English 'first,' Spanish 'primero/primer,' French 'premier,' German 'erster' all converge on simple ordinal meaning. This covers chronological priority (Matt 26:17, the first day of Unleavened Bread), ranking in lists (Matt 10:2, 'first, Simon'), and the rhetorical 'first and greatest commandment' (Matt 22:38). 90×
AR["أَوَّلًا","أَوَّلَ","أَوَّلُ","أَوَّلِ","أَوَّلِهِمْ","أُولى","الأولى","الأَوَّلُ","الْأَوَّلُ"]·ben["নিয়ে","প্রথম","প্রথমজনকে","প্রথমে"]·DE["erster"]·EN["first","on-first"]·FR["premier"]·heb["רִאשׁוֹן","רִאשׁוֹנָה"]·HI["पहला","पहली","पहले","पहले-ने","पहले-से","पेहले"]·ID["pertama","yang-pertama"]·IT["primo"]·jav["ingkang-kapisan","ingkang-kapisan,","ingkang-rumiyin","ingkang-sepisan","ingkang-sepisan,","kapisan","rumiyin","sapisan","sepisan"]·KO["먼저","처음","처음에","첫째","첫째-","첫째-가","첫째-에게","첫째가","첫째로"]·PT["primeiro","primeiro,"]·RU["первая","первого-дня","первому","первый","первым","первым,","прежде"]·ES["primer","primero"]·SW["amri","atakuwa","kwanza","mwanzoni","wa-kwanza","ya-kwanza"]·TR["birinci","birincisi","birinciye","ilk","ilki"]·urd["پہلا","پہلی","پہلے","پہلے-نے"]
Matt 10:2, Matt 20:27, Matt 22:38, Matt 26:17, Mark 9:35, Mark 10:44, Mark 12:20, Mark 12:28, Mark 14:12, Mark 16:9, Luke 2:2, Luke 14:18 (+38 more)
2. leading, chief, prominent person — Substantival use designating a person of high social rank, authority, or prominence — a chief, leader, or notable. Spanish 'principales' and English 'leading/chief' distinguish this from mere ordinal numbering. Herod's birthday feast gathered the 'leading men' of Galilee (Mark 6:21); the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica enlisted 'prominent' women against Paul (Acts 17:4). The shift from adjective to substantive noun signals a sociological rather than sequential meaning. 7×
AR["-الأَوَّلِ","-رُؤساءِ","أَعيانُ","أَوائِلَ","أَوَّلُ","أُولَى"]·ben["প্রথম","প্রথমের","প্রধানদের","প্রধানদেরকে","প্রধানেরা"]·DE["erster"]·EN["chief","leaders","leading","leading-man","leading-men","leading-ones"]·FR["premier"]·heb["הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת","רִאשׁוֹן","רִאשׁוֹנִים","רָאשֵׁי"]·HI["प्रधानकी","प्रमुख","प्रमुखों","प्रमुखोंने","प्रमुख।"]·ID["kepala","orang-terkemuka","pemimpin","pemimpin-pemimpin","pemimpin.","terkemuka"]·IT["primo"]·jav["pangageng","pangageng.","pangarsaning","para-pangageng","para-pemimpin","sapisan","tetindhih"]·KO["선두들","유지들을","으뜸가는","제일-의","주요한","주요한-사람들을","첫째-되는-자들이"]·PT["principais","principais.","principal"]·RU["первого","первые","первым","первых","первых."]·ES["principal","principales"]·SW["mkuu","viongozi","wa-kwanza","wakubwa","wakuu"]·TR["Publius","bir-araya-geldiklerinde","ileri-gelenler","ileri-gelenlerine","ileri-gelenlerini","önde-gelen","önde-gelenler"]·urd["اوّل","اہم","بڑوں","سردار","سرداروں-کو","پہلے"]
3. first as adverb, firstly — Adverbial deployment meaning 'in the first place' or 'firstly,' indicating logical or temporal priority of an action rather than describing a noun. At Antioch the disciples were 'first' called Christians (Acts 11:26); Paul recounts what he delivered 'first of all' (1 Cor 15:3). Spanish 'primeramente' (firstly) makes the adverbial force explicit where English simply reuses 'first.' 2×
AR["أوَّلِ","أَوَّلًا"]·ben["প্রথমে","প্রথমে,"]·DE["erster"]·EN["first"]·FR["premier"]·heb["רִאשׁוֹנָה","רִאשׁוֹנוֹת"]·HI["पहले-पहल","सबसे-पहले"]·ID["pertama-kali","yang-terutama,"]·IT["primo"]·jav["kaping-sepisan","rumiyin-piyambak"]·KO["가장-먼저","처음으로"]·PT["primeiras-coisas,"]·RU["впервые","первых"]·ES["las-primeras-cosas","primeramente"]·SW["kwanza"]·TR["ilk-kez","ilklerde"]·urd["پہلوں-میں","پہلے-پہل"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πρῶτος, η, ον, see at {πρότερος} Refs 5th c.BC+