initial
/ɪˈnɪʃ.əl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.72 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Chronologically first, early; of or pertaining to the beginning, cause or origin.
adj
Spatially first, placed at the beginning, in the first position; especially said of the first letter of a word.
noun
A distinguished initial letter of a chapter or section of a document.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "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."
- "The initial letter of names is usually printed with a capital letter."
- "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."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti Proto-Italic *ejō Proto-Italic *eō Proto-Italic *eneō Latin ineō Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin initium Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin initiālislbor. Middle French initialbor. ▲ Latin initiālislbor. English initial From Middle French initial or directly from its Latin etymon initiālis (“of the beginning, incipient, initial”), from initium (“a going in, entrance”), from inīre (“to go into, enter”), from in (“in”) + ire (“to go”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: initial, -