zunächst
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
From Middle High German ze næhste (“close, directly next”). Equivalent to zu + nächst. The sense “first” developed because from the perspective of the start the next thing to do is the first thing.
Pronunciation
Adverb
zunächst
- first, first of all, in the first place, to begin with, initially
- Synonyms: zuerst, als erstes, erstmal
- Um Brot zu backen, braucht man zunächst etwas Mehl.
- To bake bread, first you need some flour.
- 1915 October, Franz Kafka, “Die Verwandlung [The Metamorphosis]”, in Die Weißen Blätter […] , volume 2, number 10, Verlag der Weißen Bücher, page 1180:
- Zunächst wollte er ruhig und ungestört aufstehen, sich anziehen und vor allem frühstücken, und dann erst das Weitere überlegen, denn, das merkte er wohl, im Bett würde er mit dem Nachdenken zu keinem vernünftigen Ende kommen.
- To begin with, he wanted to get up calmly and undisturbed, get dressed and, above all, have breakfast, and only then think about everything else, because, as he realized very well, in bed he would not come to a sensible conclusion with the thinking.
- for now, for the time being
- Synonyms: vorerst, erstmal, fürs erste, bis auf Weiteres
- Die Ursache des Unfalls bleibt zunächst unklar.
- The cause of the accident remains unclear for now.
- (archaic) next, then, secondly (immediately following the first thing)
Usage notes
- As the sense “next” is archaic, the word should be considered a false friend in contemporary German.
Further reading
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