firsthand
or first-hand
[furst-hand]
- from the first or original source: We heard the news of the accident firsthand from a witness.
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- of or relating to the first or original source.
- direct from the original source: firsthand knowledge of the riot.
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Origin of firsthand
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for firsthand
Contemporary Examples
Documents and firsthand accounts of Clausewitz at war by others are few and far between.
I saw personally, firsthand, what drug use and drug abuse is doing to an underprivileged population.
Firsthand accounts from Sinjar paint a picture of withdrawal without a fight and without warning the local population.
How the U.S.-favored Kurds Abandoned the Yazidis when ISIS AttackedChristine van den Toorn
August 17, 2014
More than a few joined after witnessing 9/11, and some had even experienced it firsthand in Manhattan or DC.
From firsthand experience, I know exactly what Justice Thomas is describing.
Historical Examples
He spoke from firsthand knowledge of the horrors committed by the Tartars.
The Saracen: The Holy WarRobert Shea
You may have studied Europe from afar, but you do not know Italy firsthand.
The Saracen: Land of the InfidelRobert Shea
The schools can give the students a firsthand knowledge of the various phases of library work, and this is important.
The character of his comments makes it clear that he had a firsthand knowledge of the books that he cites.
A History of Bibliographies of BibliographiesArcher Taylor
During this period he mastered the use of surveying instruments and made a firsthand study of tides in the region.
Early American Scientific Instruments and Their MakersSilvio A. Bedini
Word Origin and History for firsthand
adj.
also first-hand, first hand, 1690s, from the image of the "first hand" as the source or origin of something.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper