Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

erst

American  
[urst] / ɜrst /

adverb

Archaic.

  1. before the present time; formerly.

erst British  
/ ɜːst /

adverb

  1. long ago; formerly

  2. at first

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

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

But this seventh President�he was none other than Dr. Robert Ernest Vinson, erst of Texas.

From Time Magazine Archive

But stubborn Father Wimmer exploded in S�ddeutsch: "Jetzt geschieht's erst recht!"

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.