erst
Americanadverb
adverb
-
long ago; formerly
-
at first
Etymology
Origin of erst
before 1000; Middle English erest, Old English ǣrest (cognate with Old High German ērist, German erst ), equivalent to ǣr ere + -est -est 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To paraphrase the disgraced former vice chancellor: “Jetzt erst recht!”
From Slate ● May 21, 2019
But Alba's brown dachshunds are much better ball-broken than the two famed black dachshunds of erst Kaiser Wilhelm II, which more than once appalled the Imperial Court at Berlin.
From Time Magazine Archive
After a short dis appearance Means returned to Washington with the news that, sure enough, his erst while jailmate was the one who had done the job.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Be’nt thick wold chappie our Wat that erst run lunatical?”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
The mate, a sturdy, red-faced, weather-beaten, but comely fellow, sought the captain’s cabin and reported a rapidly-falling glass, and the gradual obliteration of the stars, that erst had shone so sweetly.
From Annie o' the Banks o' Dee by Gordon Stables
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
