# initial
## English
### Etymology

From 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

* IPA: /ɪˈnɪʃəl/, (Indic) /iˈniˑʃia̯l/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɪʃəl

### Adjective

initial (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

* incipient
* opening

#### Antonyms

* final

#### Derived terms

* head-initial
* initial caps
* initial coin offering
* initial condition
* initially
* initial mass function
* initialness
* initial object
* initial point
* initial public offering
* initial reject
* initial setting time
* initial topology
* initial-value problem
* initial value problem
* peninitial

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Noun

initial (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

* (typography, calligraphy): drop cap, versal

#### Derived terms

* initialism
* initial teaching alphabet

#### See also

* monogram

### Verb

initial (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
### Related terms

* init
* initialize
* initiate
* initiation
* initiative

### See also

* middle

### Further reading

* “initial”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “initial”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
* “initial”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

## French
### Etymology

From Latin initiālis, from initium (“beginning”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /i.ni.sjal/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -al

### Adjective

initial (feminine initiale, masculine plural initiaux, feminine plural initiales)
* initial

#### Related terms

* initiale
* initialement
* initialiser

### Further reading

* “initial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## German
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /iniˈt͡sɪ̯aːl/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

initial (strong nominative masculine singular initialer, not comparable)
* initial, incipient

#### Declension
## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Latin initiālis.

### Noun

initial m (definite singular initialen, indefinite plural initialer, definite plural initialene)
* an initial (first letter of a name)

### References

* “initial” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Latin initiālis.

### Noun

initial m (definite singular initialen, indefinite plural initialar, definite plural initialane)
* an initial (first letter of a name)

### References

* “initial” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.