initial
[ih-nish-uh l]
- of, relating to, or occurring at the beginning; first: the initial step in a process.
- Phonetics. occurring at the beginning of a word or syllable, as the (k) sound of kite, chasm, or quay.
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- an initial letter, as of a word.
- the first letter of a proper name.
- 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.
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- to mark or sign with an initial or the initials of one's name, especially as a token of preliminary or informal approval.
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Origin of initial
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for initially
Contemporary Examples
Dossi initially was listed in critical condition with wounds to his arm and lower back.
The building used to be an all-girls school, and when it was initially purchased by Fortune it was dilapidated.
Rather, it was the Democrats who initially were the Southern Party.
Initially, it will be able to carry 1,000-pound satellite-guided bombs or 500-pound laser-guided weapons.
Fatima says they were initially happy when Ziad joined the army, but that feeling has utterly faded.
Historical Examples
They decided that, initially at least, sulfa-tetradine was a miraculous success.
Mate in Two MovesWinston Marks
The life of reason is initially unconscious because it can learn only by living to seek a reason for life.
Creative IntelligenceJohn Dewey, Addison W. Moore, Harold Chapman Brown, George H. Mead, Boyd H. Bode, Henry Waldgrave, Stuart James, Hayden Tufts, Horace M. Kallen
It is, initially, a thing of the outward as type is a thing of the inward world.
Heart of ManGeorge Edward Woodberry
Initially, then, every judgment is a truth-claim, and this claim is merely formal.
PragmatismD.L. Murray
One of these assumptions is that the concrete is initially unstressed.
Some Mooted Questions in Reinforced Concrete DesignEdward Godfrey
initial
- of, at, or concerning the beginning
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- the first letter of a word, esp a person's name
- printing a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work
- botany a cell from which tissues and organs develop by division and differentiation; a meristematic cell
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- (tr) to sign with one's initials, esp to indicate approval; endorse
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin initiālis of the beginning, from initium beginning, literally: an entering upon, from inīre to go in, from in- ² + īre to go
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for initially
initial
v.
"to mark or sign with initials," 1864, American English, from initial (n.). Related: Initialed; initialing.
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initial
n.
"initial letter of a name or surname," 1620s, from initial (adj.) in a specialized sense "standing at the beginning of a word, sentence, etc."
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initial
adj.
1520s, "of or pertaining to a beginning," from Middle French initial or directly from Latin initialis "initial, incipient," from initium "a beginning, an entrance," from past participle stem of inire "to go into, enter upon, begin," from in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + ire "to go" (see ion).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper