Unua

Unua is an Esperanto term meaning "first" when used as an ordinal adjective. It is the ordinal form of unu, the word for "one." In Esperanto, adjectives precede the noun and do not inflect for gender or number; therefore expressions like la unua libro translate to "the first book," and la unua libroj to "the first books" when plural is used.

Etymology and usage: Unua is formed from unu with the adjectival suffix -a, following the regular pattern for ordinals in Esperanto such as dua (second) and tria (third). It functions to indicate order or priority in a sequence and is used with nouns directly, often accompanied by the definite article la to specify a particular position within a context.

Other uses: Outside Esperanto, Unua may appear as a proper noun in names of places, organizations, or works, though such uses are unrelated to its Esperanto meaning. In such cases, capitalization typically signals a proper name rather than an adjective meaning "first."

See also: unu, dua, tria.