First dibs

Origin of: First dibs

First dibs

To have dibs or first dibs is to have the right to choose or share something and is first recorded in this sense in America during the 1930s. Earlier, from the 1830s, a dib was a share or a portion, probably deriving from even earlier dibs or dib-stones which were pebbles or counters used in children’s games. How ‘first dibs’ suddenly appeared in America in 1930s to mean first choice remains a mystery.