initial

American  

[ih-nish-uhl] / ɪˈnɪʃ əl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning; first.

   the initial step in a process.

2. Phonetics. occurring at the beginning of a word or syllable, as the (k) sound of kite, chasm, or quay.

---

noun

1. an initial letter, as of a word.

2. the first letter of a proper name.

3. a letter of extra size or an ornamental character used at the beginning of a chapter or other division of a book, manuscript, or the like.

verb (used with object)

initialed, initialing, initialled, initialling

1. to mark or sign with an initial or the initials of one's name, especially as a token of preliminary or informal approval.

initial British  

/ ɪˈnɪʃəl /

adjective

1. of, at, or concerning the beginning

---

noun

1. the first letter of a word, esp a person's name

2. printing a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work

3. botany a cell from which tissues and organs develop by division and differentiation; a meristematic cell

verb

1. (tr) to sign with one's initials, esp to indicate approval; endorse

Other Word Forms

• initialer noun
• initially adverb
• preinitial verb (used with object)
• subinitial verb (used with object)
• uninitialed adjective

Etymology

Origin of initial

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin initiālis, equivalent to initi(um) “beginning” ( init-, noun derivative of inīre “to enter, begin”; in- in- ² + īre “to go”; comes ) + -ium -ium ) + -alis -al ¹

Example Sentences

The initial batch does not include a series of follow-up questions that Number 10 sent to Lord Mandelson about his relationship with Epstein.

From BBC

What constitutes a threat is context-specific, but systems developed in one context inevitably carry their initial assumptions to their new location.

From Salon

The initial flurry of interest faded after researchers showed it was likely that much of the content on Moltbook was human users posing as AI agents, although security breaches on the site were subsequently fixed.

From Barron's

The initial findings were published in a recent Harvard Business Review article.

From The Wall Street Journal

After some initial relief, and a big plunge from Monday’s triple-digit highs, crude futures are rising again and stock futures point to losses when U.S. trading opens.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• basic
• introductory
• original