inaugural

English

Etymology

From French inaugural, from inaugurer, from Latin augurare (“to take omens”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɔːɡjərəl/, /ɪˈnɔːɡjʊrəl/
• (Standard Southern British, Australia) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɔːɡjərəl/, /ɪˈnoːɡɹəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US)
  • (without the cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɔɡəɹəl/, /ɪˈnɔɡɹəl/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɑɡəɹəl/, /ɪˈnɑɡɹəl/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /əˈnoːɡəɹəl/, /əˈnoːɡɹəl/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɔɡəɾəl/, /ɪˈnɔɡɾəl/
• (Wales) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɔːɡəɾəl/, /ɪˈnɔːɡɾəl/

Adjective

inaugural (not comparable)

1. Of inauguration; as in a speech or lecture by the person being inaugurated.
   • 2008 August 21, Cape Times, page 21:

     The University of Cape Town hosts an inaugural lecture by Professor Ian Scott […] on Wednesday at 8pm.

   • 2014 April 12, Michael Inwood, “Martin Heidegger: the philosopher who fell for Hitler [print version: Hitler's philosopher]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎^[1], London, archived from the original on 13 September 2014, page R11:

     In 1928 [Martin] Heidegger succeeded [Edmund] Husserl to take a chair at Freiburg and in his inaugural lecture made a pronouncement that earned him a reputation as an archetypal metaphysician with his claim that our awareness of people as a whole depends on our experience of dread in the face of nothingness.

2. Marking the beginning of an operation, venture, etc.

   2009 was the inaugural season for New York Yankees' new stadium.

   • 2025 February 20, Homero De la Fuente, “Canada beats Team USA in overtime thriller to win hockey’s first-ever 4 Nations Face-off championship”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     Canada’s men’s hockey team defeated the USA 3-2 in overtime Thursday to capture the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off Championship as the NHL put on a show in the first edition of this midseason international tournament.

Derived terms

• inaugural address
• inaugurally
• postinaugural
• preinaugural

Translations

of inauguration

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} встъпи́телен (bg) (vstăpítelen)
• Catalan: inaugural (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 就任的

• Finnish: vihkiäiset (fi), virkaanastujaiset
• French: inaugural (fr)
• Galician: inaugural (gl)
• German: Antritts-
• Italian: inaugurale (it)
• Portuguese: inaugural (pt)
• Spanish: inaugural (es)
• Welsh: agoriadol

marking a beginning

• Bulgarian: встъпи́телен (bg) (vstăpítelen)
• Catalan: inaugural (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 首次的

• Finnish: ensimmäinen (fi), ensi-
• French: inaugural (fr)
• German: Eröffnungs-
• Spanish: inaugural (es)
• Turkish: açılış (tr)

Noun

inaugural (plural inaugurals)

1. An inauguration; a formal beginning.

   The inaugural of the President will take place in March.

2. Ellipsis of inaugural address
   • 2009 March 13, Teddy Davis, ABC News:

     In his inaugural, President Obama proclaimed 'an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics'.

Translations

an inauguration

• Bulgarian: встъ́пване (bg) n (vstắpvane)
• Finnish: vihkiäiset (fi) pl, virkaanastujaiset pl
• French: investiture (fr) f, inauguration (fr) f

inaugural address — see inaugural address

French

Etymology

From inaugurer +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.no.ɡy.ʁal/

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

Adjective

inaugural (feminine inaugurale, masculine plural inauguraux, feminine plural inaugurales)

1. inaugural

Further reading

• “inaugural”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /i.naw.ɡuˈɾaw/ [i.naʊ̯.ɡuˈɾaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.naw.ɡuˈɾal/ [i.naw.ɣuˈɾaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.naw.ɡuˈɾal/ [i.naw.ɣuˈɾaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.naw.ɡuˈɾa.li/

Adjective

inaugural m or f (plural inaugurais)

1. being a first occurrence or event
2. occurring during an inauguration

Further reading

• “inaugural”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French inaugural.

Adjective

inaugural m or n (feminine singular inaugurală, masculine plural inaugurali, feminine/neuter plural inaugurale)

1. inaugural

Declension

Declension of inaugural

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	inaugural		inaugurală	inaugurali	inaugurale
	definite	inauguralul		inaugurala	inauguralii	inauguralele
genitive- dative	indefinite	inaugural		inaugurale	inaugurali	inaugurale
	definite	inauguralului		inauguralei	inauguralilor	inauguralelor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inauɡuˈɾal/ [i.nau̯.ɣ̞uˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: i‧nau‧gu‧ral

Adjective

inaugural m or f (masculine and feminine plural inaugurales)

1. inaugural

Derived terms

• viaje inaugural

Further reading

• “inaugural”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025