first-order

first-or der ▶adjective of or relating to the simplest or most fundamental level of organization, experience, or analysis; primary or immediate: for a teacher, of course, drama must be a first-order experience. • technical having an order of one, esp. denoting mathematical equations involving only the first power of the independent variable or only the first derivative of a function.

first-order

first-order ▶adjective relating to the simplest or most fundamental level of organization, experience, or analysis; primary or immediate: for a teacher, of course, drama must be a first-order experience. • technical having an order of one, especially denoting mathematical equations involving only the first power of the independent variable or only the first derivative of a function.