first-foot

American  

[furst-foot] / ˈfɜrstˈfʊt /

noun

1. the first person to cross the threshold of a house on New Year's Day.

2. the first person met after starting out on the day of an important occasion.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to enter (a house) first on New Year's Day.

verb (used without object)

1. to be the first to enter a house on New Year's Day.

first-foot British  

noun

1. the first person to enter a household in the New Year. By Hogmanay tradition a dark-haired man who crosses the threshold at midnight brings good luck

---

verb

1. to enter (a house) as first-foot

Other Word Forms

• first-footing
  noun

Etymology

Origin of first-foot

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first-foot

An unlucky "first-foot" brings misfortune with him or her, but a lucky "first-foot" introduces prosperity.

From The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales by Grant, James, archaeologist

However, it was a prosperous year, and a bleeding first-foot was not afterwards considered bad.

From Folk Lore Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century by Napier, James

The footman had not such large whiskers as Bill Somers, but they were of the same colour, and they certainly were the same eyes that had frightened his mother in the head of her first-foot.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 10 by Various

Nelly was no friend to spirit-drinking; nevertheless she was glad that her first-foot, though he did squint, had not come empty-handed.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 10 by Various

I remember that one year our first-foot was a man who had fallen and broken his bottle, and cut and bleeding was assisted into our house.

From Folk Lore Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century by Napier, James