first fruits

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plural noun

the earliest fruit of the season.

the first products or results of anything.

Nearby words

first family, first finger, first fleet, first floor, first four ships, first fruits, first gentleman, first hand, first heart sound, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, first intention

Origin of first fruits

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for first fruits

The first-fruits are genna to the village until he eats, thus establishing an opposition between him and his co-villagers.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5|Various
I and my friend, the first-fruits of that bloud, You and your honourable Husband aim at?
The Little French Lawyer|Francis Beaumont
An offering of first-fruits was made in August; in November the winter store of nuts and apples was opened.
The Book of Hallowe'en|Ruth Edna Kelley
On January 1st be presented the first-fruits of the year in the shape of twenty-two of Grobler's burghers.
The Great Boer War|Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the first-fruits of a friendship I have established between two great men.
The Journal to Stella|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for first fruits

first fruits

pl n

the first results, products, or profits of an undertaking

fruit that ripens 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