preliminary English · revision 7180

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1656|origins=la limen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pɹɪˈlɪmɪn(ə)ɹi/, /pɹɪˈlɪmɪnɛɹi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|préliminaire]] and directly New Latin [[m|la-new|praeliminaris]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|prae|t=before]] and [[m|la|limen|t=threshold]] (genitive liminis) (see [[limit]]).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, a step or measure preceding something more important: 1656 in the OED and MWU;^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline says the earliest form in English is ''preliminaries'', things that introduce what follows (1650s).^(Etymonline) The adjective is from before 1667, in Jeremy Taylor's sermons.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that the word arose in reference to the painstaking diplomatic negotiations to end the Thirty Years' War.^(Etymonline) A preliminary examination is from 1882,^(OED 1989) and the preliminary matter of a book, the prelims, from 1888.^(OED 1989) Addison used French préliminaire in ''The Tatler'' (1709).^(Barnhart 1988) A preliminary round of a sporting contest is a later use.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1650s – preliminaries.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1656 – a preliminary step (noun).^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1667 – the adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1882 – a preliminary examination.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1888 – a book's prelims.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Coming before and preparing for the main part; [[introductory]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A preliminary action or event.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(preliminaries)'' The pages before the main text of a book.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A preliminary round in a competition.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[preliminarily]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[prelim]]

+ * [[limit]]

+ * [[eliminate]]

+ * [[subliminal]]

+ * [[lintel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}