What does "initial" mean?

1. (first or beginning) happening at the very beginning of a process or situation. 2. (first letter of a name) the first letter of a person's name. 3. (to sign with initials) to write the first letters of your name on a document to show you agree.

initial

adj. · n. · v.

US //ˌɪˈnɪʃəɫ// UK //ɪnˈɪʃəl// ini·tial

1 first or beginning (adj.)
B1 Intermediate General-service

happening at the very beginning of a process or situation.

occurring at the beginning; relating to the first stage of a process.

Example

My initial reaction to the news was surprise, but then I felt happy.

Example

The initial phase of the project focused on gathering data before any strategic decisions were made by the board.
2 first letter of a name (n.)
B1 Intermediate

the first letter of a person's name.

the first letter of a word or a name, typically used in the plural to refer to the first letters of all a person's names.

Example

He has his initials, J.B., sewn onto his travel bag.

Example

The silver locket was engraved with the initials of her great-grandmother, though the metal had tarnished over the decades.
- monogram

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3 to sign with initials (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Formal

to write the first letters of your name on a document to show you agree.

to mark or sign a document with one's initials, often as a preliminary or informal signature. Transitive use requiring a direct object.

Example

Please initial each page of the contract at the bottom.

Example

The legal assistant requested that the client initial every amendment to ensure the changes were officially acknowledged before filing.
- sign
- endorse

Origin

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”).

Word family

Adjectiveinitial
Adverbinitially