initial
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initial
- /ɪˈnɪʃ.əl/
- [ɪˈnɪʃ.(ə̯)l̩]
Rhymes with -ɪʃəl
Where it comes from
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”).
adjective
- 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.
- 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.
Similar: incipient, inceptive, opening, beginning, commencing, earliest, first, initial, maiden, nascent, original, primary, prime, primeval, primitive, primordial, starting · Opposite: final, eternal
noun initials
- The first letter of a word or a name, especially of a person's full name (their initials). 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 sti
- A distinguished initial letter of a chapter or section of a document.
- onset, part of a syllable that precedes the syllable nucleus in phonetics and phonology.
verb initials · initialing · initialling · initialed · initialled
- To sign one's initial(s), as an abbreviated signature. Please initial each page and sign the contract in full at the bottom.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: first, primary, original, originally, elementary, main, prime, principle, prima, basic, premier, principled, firstly, primitive, primeval, familiarization
Translations
Every language
adj chronologically first
| Español | inicial, a quo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 初期の shoki no, 始めの hajime no |
| 中文 | 初始 chūshǐ, 最初 zuìchū |
| Português | inicial |
| Français | initial |
| Deutsch | anfänglich, ursprünglich |
| Italiano | iniziale |
| Ελληνικά | αρχικός archikós |
| Русский | нача́льный načálʹnyj, исхо́дный isxódnyj, первонача́льный pervonačálʹnyj, перви́чный pervíčnyj, оригина́льный originálʹnyj |
| العربية | أَوَّلِيّ ʔawwaliyy, أَوَّل ʔawwal |
adj spatially first
| 日本語 | 最初の saisho no, 始めの hajime no |
|---|---|
| Português | inicial |
| Français | initial |
| Deutsch | anfänglich, erster |
| Italiano | iniziale |
| Русский | нача́льный načálʹnyj, пе́рвый pérvyj |
| العربية | أَوَّل ʔawwal |
noun first letter of a word
| 한국어 | 두문자 dumunja |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 頭文字 kashiramoji |
| 中文 | 首字母 shǒuzìmǔ |
| Português | inicial |
| Français | lettrine, initiale, première lettre |
| Deutsch | Anfangsbuchstabe, Initiale |
| Ελληνικά | αρχικό γράμμα archikó grámma |
| Русский | нача́льная бу́ква načálʹnaja búkva |
| العربية | حَرْف أَوَّلِيّ ḥarf ʔawwaliyy |
noun first letters of a person's name as a unit
| Español | iniciales |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | イニシャル inisharu |
| Français | initiale |
| Deutsch | Initiale |
| Ελληνικά | μονογραφή monografí |
| Русский | инициа́л iniciál |
noun calligraphy: distinguished initial letter
| 日本語 | イニシャル inisharu |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 首字放大 shǒuzì fàngdà |
| Français | lettrine |
| Deutsch | Initiale, Initial |
| Ελληνικά | πρωτόγραμμα protógramma |
| Русский | бу́квица búkvica, инициа́л iniciál |
noun first part of a syllable (onset)
| 한국어 | 성모 seongmo, 초성 choseong, 첫소리 cheotsori |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 声母 seibo |
| 中文 | 聲母 /声母 shēngmǔ, 聲紐 /声纽 shēngniǔ, 音紐 /音纽 yīnniǔ, 紐 /纽 niǔ |
| Français | initiale |
| Русский | инициа́ль iniciálʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | thanh mẫu |
verb to sign one's initial(s)
| 中文 | 草簽 /草签 cǎoqiān |
|---|---|
| Português | rubricar |
| Français | parapher |
| Deutsch | paraphrasieren, abzeichnen |
| Ελληνικά | μονογραφώ monografó |
| Русский | парафи́ровать parafírovatʹ |
Talk about this word "initial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/initial. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. initial. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/initial "initial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/initial.Cite this
@misc{initial_2026,
title = {initial},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/initial},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
