birinci

Birinci is a Turkish word meaning first. It functions as an ordinal numeral and as an adjective to indicate the first item in a sequence, rank, or period. It appears in everyday Turkish as well as in formal or historical contexts, and it can also occur in proper nouns or titles when referring to the first instance of something.

Morphology and form: Birinci is formed from the cardinal number bir (one) plus the ordinal suffix -inci, with vowel harmony shaping the ending. Turkish also uses other ordinal suffix variants such as -ıncı, -uncu, and -üncü for different numerals, but birinci is the standard form for the first. The word is typically written as birinci in ordinary text and birinci in titles where capitalization marks the beginning of a proper noun or heading.

Usage: Birinci is used to denote order, such as in phrases like birinci sırada (in first place) or birinci bölüm (the first section). It also appears in historical or formal phrases like Birinci Dünya Savaşı, the Turkish name for World War I. In lists, rankings, and official documents, the sequence continues with ikinci (second), üçüncü (third), and so on, following the same ordinal pattern.

See also: Turkish ordinal numbers, ikinci, üçüncü, Dünya Savaşı. In other Turkic languages with similar morphology, cognate forms of birinci appear to express the same meaning of “first.”