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.

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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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

• first-footing
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of first-foot

First recorded in 1880–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first-foot

But our business at present is with the first-foot, and we must hold.

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

A plane-soled person was an unlucky first-foot; a pious sanctimonious person was not good, and a hearty ranting merry fellow was considered the best sort of first-foot.

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

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 James Grant

He thought of a hundred subjects, and with each the idea of his mother's beautiful but most unlucky first-foot was mingled!

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

There was not a person on all the Borders, nor yet in all Scotland, who attached more importance to the first-foot than Nelly Rogers.

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

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