initiate English · revision 39946

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1603|origins=la ineō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɪˈnɪʃiət/, /ɪˈnɪʃieɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|initiātus]], the past participle of [[m|la|initiō|t=to begin; to admit to sacred rites]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Klein 1966) with the verb suffix [[-ate]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) In classical Latin the verb meant only "to instruct in mysteries or sacred knowledge"; the sense "to begin" is Late Latin.^(Etymonline) It is formed on [[m|la|initium|t=a beginning, an entrance]], in the plural [[m|la|initia]] "elements; sacred mysteries", from [[m|la|ineō|t=to go into, enter upon]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) the source of [[initial]];^(Barnhart 1988) that verb is [[m|la|in-|t=into]] + [[m|la|eō|t=to go]], from the root [[ine-pro|*h₁ey-|alt=*ei-|t=to go]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) Some English uses are a back-formation from [[initiation]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[m|fr|initier]] is recorded from the 14th century.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To admit someone with due rites into a society or into secret knowledge: 1603, in Philemon Holland's translation of Plutarch's ''Moralia'';^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) the sense "to begin, set going" follows in 1604, in Cawdrey's ''Table Alphabeticall''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster dates the sense "to begin" to 1533,^(MWU 2024) and the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English place the verb in the mid 16th century.^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The two senses, admitting someone into a group or a body of knowledge and starting something, have run side by side since the first records.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) gave only the first, "to instruct in the rudiments of an art; to put into a new society".^(Johnson 1755) The past participle used as an adjective, "initiated", is recorded from about 1600;^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) Shakespeare's "the initiate fear" in ''Macbeth'' is the fear of a beginner.^(OED 2026)^(Johnson 1755) From this adjective came the noun, a person who has been initiated, recorded from 1732 in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) the OED and Barnhart first find it in 1811, in Coleridge.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) It later also came to mean simply a beginner or novice.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) The intransitive senses "to take the first step" (1725, in Pope's ''Odyssey'') and "to undergo initiation" (1896) are later.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1533 – to begin, set going (Merriam-Webster).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1603 – to admit with rites into a society or secret knowledge.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1604 – to begin, originate.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1600 – adjective, initiated.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1725 – to take the initiative.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1811 – noun, a person who has been initiated.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1896 – to undergo initiation.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[begin]] or set something going: ''The council initiated a review of local bus routes.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To admit someone into a [[club]], [[society]] or other group, often with special [[ceremony|alt=ceremonies]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To introduce someone to the basic knowledge of a subject or activity: ''He was initiated into chess by his grandfather.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who has been initiated, especially recently.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A [[beginner]] or [[novice]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Initiated; admitted, or begun.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[initiator]]

+ * [[uninitiated]]

+ * [[reinitiate]]

+ * [[uninitiate]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[initial]]

+ * [[initialism]]

+ * [[initialize]]

+ * [[initiation]]

+ * [[initiative]]

+ * [[commence]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}