Link Centre Dictionary

preliminary

pre·li·mi·nary

UK/pɹɪˈlɪmɪn(ə)ɹi/ US/pɹɪˈlɪmɪnɛɹi/ fairly common
adjective (1) noun (2)

adjective

1.

designed to orient or acquaint with a situation before proceeding

  • “a preliminary investigation”
Similar

noun

1.
2.

something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows

  • “training is a necessary preliminary to employment”
  • “drinks were the overture to dinner”
Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from New Latin praelīmināris, formed from prae- (“before”) + līmen (“threshold”) + -āris (adjectival suffix); compare Latin līmināris (“of or belonging to a threshold”). Compare French préliminaire.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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.