firstly among

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "firstly among" is not standard in written English; "first among" is the correct form.
You can use it when you want to indicate that something is the most important or prominent in a group or list. Example: "He is first among the candidates in terms of experience and qualifications."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

12 human-written examples

Bottled water's global boom is arguably driven by fear, firstly among developing world consumers who worry about water quality from the tap, and secondly among developed world consumers about the health impacts of sugary drinks.

The Guardian

Firstly, among all sensor node components, the radio consumes the most significant amount of energy [9, 10].

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Firstly, among all the GEONET stations, these four stations have acquired extremely high-quality GNSS data from the viewpoint of low noise and seasonal variations.

Earth, Planets and Space

Firstly, among the different mechanisms that modulate C. elegans lifespan, mutations in sensory neurons lengthen lifespan in a daf-16 dependent manner [31].

Plosone

Firstly, among the 370 patients included in the current analysis, less than 50 received concurrent chemotherapy.

BMC Cancer

30, 31 The analysis was conducted firstly among all the patients regardless of presence of OCBs, and subsequently performed only within patients with CSF OCBs.

Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

47 human-written examples

Firstly, relationships among wood density, MFA and MOE on core samples obtained from trees of three cypress taxa were investigated.

New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science

So usually the data are firstly fused among the sources, and then sent back to the destination.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

We note firstly that among 7,062 Moroccan households, 15% received remittances from abroad during the preceding year (i.e., the recipient households), 33.7% of which are rural households.

IZA Journal of Migration

Firstly, although among 3071 respondents a significant portion have come from both urban and rural areas, much of them have been influenced by the environmental factors that are typically of the urban settings, so a generalization of the results for rural and, perhaps, other lagging regions is limited.

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Firstly, concerns among newly qualified doctors and nurses about their preparedness for safe drug prescribing and administration.

BMC Medical Education

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When listing items, ensure parallelism in your sentence structure. If you start with "first", subsequent items should follow with "second", "third", and so on.

Common error

Avoid mixing ordinal adverbs (firstly, secondly, thirdly) with cardinal adjectives (first, second, third) in the same enumeration. Choose one style and maintain consistency.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "firstly among" functions as an adverbial phrase, attempting to indicate the first item within a group or list. However, as Ludwig AI notes, this construction is not standard and may be considered grammatically questionable.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

83%

News & Media

17%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "firstly among" appears in some contexts, particularly in scientific literature, Ludwig AI indicates it is not a standard or preferred construction. The phrase attempts to highlight the initial or most important item in a group. For improved clarity and grammatical correctness, it is generally recommended to use alternatives such as "foremost among" or "first among". Always consider the context and audience when making your choice and prioritize precision.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

foremost among

Highlights the prominence or importance within a group.

chiefly among

Focuses on the primary or main element within a collection.

primarily among

Similar to 'chiefly among', but can suggest a greater quantity.

first in line

Emphasizes order and sequence more than relative importance.

mainly among

Suggests that something is prevalent within a specific group.

especially among

Similar to 'particularly', but with a stronger emphasis.

particularly among

Highlights a specific instance within a larger group.

first and foremost

Adds emphasis on initial priority, potentially across different groups.

above all

Implies a higher degree of importance, potentially across contexts.

in the first place

Highlights something that must be addressed before all else, irrespective of who is concerned.

FAQs

Is "firstly among" grammatically correct?

While not strictly incorrect, the phrasing "firstly among" is less common and generally considered less elegant than alternatives such as "foremost among" or "first among".

What can I say instead of "firstly among"?

You can use alternatives like "primarily among", "chiefly among", or "mainly among" depending on the context.

When should I use "first among" instead of "firstly among"?

It is preferable to use "first among" because it is the more standard and accepted phrasing.

Is there a difference in meaning between "first among" and "foremost among"?

While both phrases indicate high priority, "foremost among" typically emphasizes prominence or importance, whereas "first among" simply indicates the top position in a list or group.