Jumping series

I could be wrong, but I have a strange recollection of someone saying that Word was the first character to jump series from ST:TNG to ST:DS9.

If that recollection is correct, then I have to point out that the statement was in error. Chief Miles O'Brien and his wife Keiko were the first characters to jump from TNG to DS9. Unless my timeline is way off, but I don't think it is.

Am I in error in my recollection of the statement? Sorry if I am.

Worf was the first main character to be in two series as a main character. Mile's and Keiko were recurring characters in TNG before coming main characters in DS9 (well, Keiko remained a non-main character, but that's beside the point).

So, you're not wrong in what you said. To quote one of my favorite lines in Futurama, "You are technically correct. The best kind of correct"

Ah, good distinction. I may have missed that in the original statement. Funny. After Chief O'Brien actually got a name, even though Colm Meany wasn't a title credit cast member, I personally always saw him (and Guinan) as "main character".

Let's put it this way; when DS9 started and they had O'Brien, people said, "Oh yeah, that transporter guy. I kind of remember him. So now he gets a series, eh?" Even in episodes where he played an important part ("Power Play", "Realm of Fear" & "The Wounded", for example), it was never an "O'Brien" episode.
When they heard that Worf would be joining as a regular, they said, "Wow! Will he bring his son? Does this mean that Kurn will guest star? Will he have the same job? What about Odo? Will he bring in other guest stars more often now? What will happen when they make another TNG movie?" He had baggage and history to bring in, not just a familiar face to make the transition easier for fans.
Don't get me wrong, I love Miles O'Brien (he really deserves a better wife, though), but I love him because of DS9. I love Worf for both TNG and DS9 because he had growth in both shows, so his moving to a new one was something special.