DictionaryAI

initial

i-NISH-uhl/ɪˈnɪʃəl/

Noun pluralinitials

Verbinitials

5 meanings of initial

Practice

  1. 1
    firstadjective
    Coming first in time, order, or position; at the beginning of something.

    Her initial reaction was surprise, which soon turned to delight.

    Investigators traced the fire back to an initial spark in the wiring.

    UsageUsually before a noun: initial reaction, initial stage. To say at first, use the adverb initially.

    Note

    The adjective usually sits before its noun to mark what comes first, often a first phase that later shifts, as in initial panic, initial admiration, or the initial climb out of Liverpool.

  2. 2
    first letternouncountable
    The first letter of a word or name, especially the first letter of each part of a person's full name.

    Each suitcase was monogrammed with the owner's initials.

    She drew an ornate initial at the start of her signature.

    UsageUsually plural: her initials, sign your initials. A single letter is an initial.

    Note

    The set need not belong to a person. H. C. Casserley in the Railway Magazine (1952) describes the initials of the old Great North of Scotland Railway embossed in frosted glass, so companies and institutions have them too.

  3. 3
    signverbtransitive
    To mark a document with one's initials as an abbreviated form of signature.

    The manager asked us to initial every correction on the report.

    He initialed the margin to confirm he had reviewed the changes.

    UsageOften paired with sign: initial each page and sign at the end.

    Similarsign

    Note

    The spelling of the inflected forms splits by variety. American English doubles nothing (initialed, initialing), while British English doubles the l (initialled, initialling). The verb is transitive, and its object is the thing marked: a page, a correction, a margin. Often initials mark the parts, such as each page or change, and a full signature completes the whole.

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    decorated letternouncountable
    A large or decorated first letter marking the opening of a chapter or section of a text.

    The manuscript's red initial stretched down three lines of text.

    Medieval scribes often adorned each initial with gold leaf and intricate vines.

    Note

    Scribes and typographers use it for a letter set apart by size, color, or ornament to signal where a chapter or major section begins and to draw the eye there. In manuscripts such letters may be illuminated, or historiated, with a small scene inside the letter. Unlike the letters of a name, what matters is not whose letter it is but how it stands out from the text around it.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Decorated initials draw attention to the beginning of a text or an important passage. getty.edu
    • Initial letters in manuscripts may be illuminated. slsa.sa.gov.au
    • Historiated initials incorporate scenes into their design. otago.ac.nz
  2. 5
    noun
    The onset of a syllable: the consonant sound or sounds before its nucleus, which is usually a vowel.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of initial apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle French initial or directly from its Latin source initiālis (“of the beginning, initial”), from initium (“an entrance, beginning”), which comes from inire (“to go in, begin”), formed from in (“in”) plus ire (“to go”).

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • English initial comes from Middle French initial or directly from Latin initiālis. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin initiālis means initial and derives from initium. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin initium means entrance or beginning and derives from the verb inire. en.wiktionary.org
  • Inire is the infinitive of a Latin verb meaning to enter or begin, composed of in- and the verb meaning to go. en.wiktionary.org