initial
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See also: inițial
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French initial or directly from its Latin etymon initiālis (“of the beginning, incipient, initial”), from initium (“a going in, entrance, beginning”), from inire (“to go in, enter upon, begin”), from in (“in”) + ire (“to go”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
initial (not comparable)
- Chronologically first, early; of or pertaining to the beginning, cause or origin.
- Our initial admiration for their efficiency gave way to disgust about their methods.
- The initial stages of a syndrome may differ vastly from the final symptoms.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess[1]:
- Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.
- 2021 January 13, David Clough, “Trans-Pennine transport transformers”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 58:
- While the first part to Manchester is level after the initial climb out of Liverpool, the section over the Pennines between Manchester and Leeds is very difficult, with steep gradients as well as many slowings over junctions and curves.
- Spatially first, placed at the beginning, in the first position; especially said of the first letter of a word.
- The initial letter of names is usually printed with a capital letter.
- 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], OCLC 16832619:
- Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
chronologically first
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spatially first
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun[edit]
initial (plural initials)
- The first letter of a word or a name.
- In plural, the first letter of each word of a person's full name considered as a unit.
- You can get your initials printed at the top.
- (typography, calligraphy) A distinguished initial letter of a chapter or section of a document.
- (phonology) onset, part of a syllable that precedes the syllable nucleus in phonetics and phonology.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
first letter of a word
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first letters of a person's name as a unit
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calligraphy: distinguished initial letter
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first part of a syllable (onset)
Verb[edit]
initial (third-person singular simple present initials, present participle initialing or initialling, simple past and past participle initialed or initialled)
- (transitive) To sign one's initial(s), as an abbreviated signature.
- Please initial each page and sign the contract in full at the bottom.
Translations[edit]
sign one's initial(s)
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Related terms[edit]
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- initial in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- initial in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- initial at OneLook Dictionary Search
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin initiālis, from initium (“beginning”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
initial (feminine initiale, masculine plural initiaux, feminine plural initiales)
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “initial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
initial (strong nominative masculine singular initialer, not comparable)
Declension[edit]
Positive forms of initial (uncomparable)
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
initial m (definite singular initialen, indefinite plural initialer, definite plural initialene)
- an initial (first letter of a name)
References[edit]
- “initial” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
initial m (definite singular initialen, indefinite plural initialar, definite plural initialane)
- an initial (first letter of a name)
References[edit]
- “initial” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁ey-
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪʃəl
- Rhymes:English/ɪʃəl/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Typography
- en:Calligraphy
- en:Phonology
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- Rhymes:French/al
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- German 3-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German adjectives
- German uncomparable adjectives
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Latin
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Latin
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk masculine nouns