Link Centre Dictionary

initial

ini·tial

UK/ɪˈnɪʃ.əl/ US/ˌɪˈnɪʃʌl/ fairly common
adjective (1) noun (1) verb (1)

adjective

1.

occurring at the beginning

  • “took the initial step toward reconciliation”
Similar

noun

1.

the first letter of a word (especially a person''s name)

  • “he refused to put the initials FRS after his name”

verb

1.

mark with one''s initials

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • initial caps
  • initial coin offering
  • initial condition
  • initial mass function
  • initial object
  • initial point
  • initial public offering
  • initial reject
  • initial teaching alphabet
  • middle initial

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.