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intai

first /ɨnˈtɨj/

adverb#4033 most common

Also: firstly, at first, before (in a sequence)

Example sentences

Eu mănânc întâi, apoi plec.
I eat first, then I leave.
Cine ajunge întâi câștigă jocul.
Whoever arrives first wins the game.
Mai întâi trebuie să terminăm tema, apoi putem ieși.
First we need to finish the homework, then we can go out.
El a ajuns întâi la coadă și a primit primul bilet.
He arrived first in line and got the first ticket.
Întâi și-ntâi, trebuie să recunoaștem greșeala pe care am făcut-o.
First and foremost, we must acknowledge the mistake we made.
Se cuvine, întâi de toate, să le mulțumim celor care ne-au sprijinit în aceste vremuri grele.
It is fitting, first of all, to thank those who supported us in these hard times.

Word family

întâietatepriority, precedence
întâiulthe first one (masculine)
întâiathe first one (feminine)
mai întâifirst of all, before anything else

Etymology

Întâi comes from Vulgar Latin antaneus, an adjective built on the Latin preposition ante, meaning before or in front. Romanian added the prefix în- to this root, giving the sense of standing at the very front of a sequence. Ante itself goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ent-, meaning front or forehead, which also gave rise to words in Greek and Sanskrit.

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