initial
English
editEtymology
editFrom 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
editAdjective
editinitial (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: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- 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:
- 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
editAntonyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
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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.
Noun
editinitial (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.
- 1952 February, H. C. Casserley, “Permanent Wayfarings”, in Railway Magazine, page 77:
- The point of interest about this particular specimen was that it must have remained intact for at least a quarter of a century, as it had embossed in the frosted glass the initials of the old Great North of Scotland Railway in the form of a scroll, the sort of relic of pre-grouping days that can still be found here and there if one is observant.
- (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
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editTranslations
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See also
editVerb
editinitial (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
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Related terms
editSee also
editFurther reading
edit- “initial”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “initial”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “initial”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
French
editEtymology
editFrom Latin initiālis, from initium (“beginning”).
Pronunciation
editAdjective
editinitial (feminine initiale, masculine plural initiaux, feminine plural initiales)
Related terms
editFurther reading
edit- “initial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editinitial (strong nominative masculine singular initialer, not comparable)
Declension
editnumber & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
predicative | er ist initial | sie ist initial | es ist initial | sie sind initial | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | initialer | initiale | initiales | initiale |
genitive | initialen | initialer | initialen | initialer | |
dative | initialem | initialer | initialem | initialen | |
accusative | initialen | initiale | initiales | initiale | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der initiale | die initiale | das initiale | die initialen |
genitive | des initialen | der initialen | des initialen | der initialen | |
dative | dem initialen | der initialen | dem initialen | den initialen | |
accusative | den initialen | die initiale | das initiale | die initialen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein initialer | eine initiale | ein initiales | (keine) initialen |
genitive | eines initialen | einer initialen | eines initialen | (keiner) initialen | |
dative | einem initialen | einer initialen | einem initialen | (keinen) initialen | |
accusative | einen initialen | eine initiale | ein initiales | (keine) initialen |
Norwegian Bokmål
editEtymology
editNoun
editinitial 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
editEtymology
editNoun
editinitial m (definite singular initialen, indefinite plural initialar, definite plural initialane)
- an initial (first letter of a name)
References
edit- “initial” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
- 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 pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪʃəl
- Rhymes:English/ɪʃəl/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
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- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
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- en:Typography
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- 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 pronunciation
- Rhymes:French/al
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- German 3-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- 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