initiative

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɪˈnɪʃ.ə.tɪv/, US /ɪˈnɪʃ.ə.t̬ɪv/^[1]

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French initiative (16th century),^[2][3][4] from Latin initiātus, the past participle of initiāre (“to begin”), from initium (“a beginning”) (see initial).^[2][4] The adjective, from 1642, was formed in English from initiate and -ive.^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, the power of beginning something: 1775 in Etymonline; the first step, and the power or right to begin something, 1793 in the OED and MWU.^[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The disposition to take the lead, the quality of enterprise, is from 1793.^[2] To take the initiative is recorded by 1815 in Etymonline, 1856 in the OED, after French prendre l'initiative.^[2][5] In political science the initiative is the right of citizens to propose a law and put it to a vote, from 1889.^[5][7] A new plan or measure to deal with a problem, as in a peace initiative, is a later sense.^[8]

Timeline

• 1642 – the adjective.^[5]
• 1775 – the power to begin.^[2]
• 1793 – the first step; enterprise.^[5][2]
• 1815 – take the initiative.^[2]
• 1889 – the citizens' initiative.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The ability to act and make decisions without being told; enterprise.
2. A new plan or action to deal with a problem: a peace initiative.
3. The first step, or the power to take it: to take the initiative.
4. The right of citizens to propose a new law and have it put to a vote.

Word family

• initiatively

Related words

• initial
• initialism
• initialize
• initiate
• initiation

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins