firsthand

[ furst-hand ]

/ ˈfɜrstˈhænd /

from the first or original source: We heard the news of the accident firsthand from a witness.

of or relating to the first or original source.

direct from the original source: firsthand knowledge of the riot.

Origin of firsthand

First recorded in 1690–1700; first + hand

As time progressed, her essays became a collection, and now, a first-hand look into the life of being an Ephron.

Delia Ephron Talks Her Memoir, ‘Sister, Mother, Husband, Dog’ |Erin Cunningham |September 19, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
He did, however, see Palestine first-hand and supported the Palestinian cause once he did.

Alicia Keys: Come Visit Palestine |Maysoon Zayid |June 11, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Karl Steinberg, a long-term geriatrician in Oceanside, Calif., knows this first-hand.

Online Mortality Calculator Could Change Health Care—and Our Views on Death |Josh Dzieza |January 15, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
And I don't know this first-hand, but some people just have to do too much in too short a period of time.

Wall Street on Wall Street |Randall Lane |September 24, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

A first-hand witness to such chaos, “Elle” has been married to a sex addict for years.

Can Sex-Addiction Rehab Save Tiger? |Abby Ellin |December 18, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
No scientific history of it exists, and all those who have written on the subject with first-hand knowledge have been party men.

The War With Mexico, Volume I (of 2) |Justin H. Smith
I have both read and heard of another custom, though I have not known of it at first-hand.

The Divine Adventure etc. (Works vol. 4) |Fiona Macleod
The descriptions of nature, the visual observation of life, are first-hand and wonderful.

Emerson and Other Essays |John Jay Chapman
Men cannot wrest a first-hand living from the soil and at the same time cultivate a Piccadilly club-land style and air.

Some Everyday Folk and Dawn |Miles Franklin
For this reason, we have opinion, or, we wouldn't trust her on the first-hand information.

Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15) |The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

first-hand

from the original source; direct or directly first-hand news; he got the news first-hand

at first hand from the original source; directly