inaugural

Etymology

It is borrowed from French inaugural,^[2][3][4][5] a 17th-century French word,^[3][2] formed from inaugurer (“to inaugurate”),^[3][4][6] on the model of Latin augurālis.^[2] The French verb, recorded from the 14th century,^[3] comes from Latin inaugurō (“to take omens, to inaugurate”),^[3][4][6] formed from in- and augurō (“to act as an augur”), from augur.^[6] The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins glosses the Latin verb as "to take omens from the flight of birds".^[7] Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com instead treat the English word as formed from the Latin verb, or from an obsolete verb inaugure, with the suffix -al.^[8][9] It is related to inaugurate, inauguration and augury.^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to an inauguration, or forming part of its ceremony: 1689, in a letter on the coronation medal.^[2][8] Etymonline and Dictionary.com date it to the 1680s.^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first described what belonged to the formal installation of a person in office,^[2][3] and was extended to the formal beginning of any course or career,^[2] so that an inaugural lecture, meeting or flight is the first of a series.^[4][10] In the Roman ceremonies behind the word, an inauguration included the taking of auguries.^[3] The noun, short for an inaugural address, is recorded in American English from 1832, in the register of debates in Congress;^[2][3][8] the OED notes that it can also mean an inaugural lecture at a university.^[2] Collins defines it especially as the speech of a President of the United States at his inauguration,^[10] and Merriam-Webster also records it for the inauguration ceremony itself.^[8]

Timeline

• 1689 – adjective, relating to or forming part of an inauguration.^[2][8]
• 1832 – noun, an inaugural address (American English).^[2][3][8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to or forming part of an inauguration: The new mayor gave her inaugural speech on the steps of the town hall.^[10][8][2]
2. Marking a beginning; first in a series: the inaugural meeting of the society.^[4][10]

Noun

1. A speech given at an inauguration, especially by a President of the United States; an inaugural address.^[10][8][2]
2. An inauguration ceremony.^[8]
3. An inaugural lecture at a university.^[2]

Word family

• postinaugural
• preinaugural

Related words

• inaugurate
• inauguration
• augur
• augury
• auspicious

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins