# initiate

Pronunciation: say "i-NISH-ee-ayt" /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/

## Verb

1. To cause something to begin; to set a process or action in motion.
   - Simple: To make something start or begin.
   - _The committee voted to initiate an investigation into the spending._
   - _She initiated contact with the supplier before the deadline._
2. To admit someone to membership, especially into a secret order through formal rites or ceremonies.
   - Simple: To make someone a member of a group, often through a special ceremony.
   - _The lodge will initiate the candidates at the solstice gathering._
   - _Elders initiated the young men into the brotherhood after a night-long vigil._
3. To instruct someone in the first principles or basics of a subject; to introduce to a practice.
   - Simple: To teach someone the basic parts of a subject for the first time.
   - _The professor likes to initiate freshmen into the methods of careful research._
   - _His mentor initiated him into the family business at a young age._
7. To perform the first act or take the initiative; to be the first to act.
   - Simple: To be the one who acts or starts first.
   - _Good leaders initiate rather than wait for instructions._
   - _He always initiates when the group falls silent._

## Noun

Pronunciation: say "i-NISH-ee-uht" /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/

4. A person who has recently become a member of an organization.
   - Simple: A person who has just joined a group or club.
   - _Each initiate was paired with a senior member as a mentor._
   - _The fraternity welcomed its newest initiates with a formal dinner._
5. A person who has passed through a ceremony of initiation into a group or order.
   - Simple: A person who has gone through the special ceremony to join a group.
   - _Once the vigil ended, the initiate emerged wearing the order's mark._
   - _The temple's initiates learned secrets withheld from ordinary worshippers._
6. A person well versed in and familiar with a subject, especially one who is an expert in it.
   - Simple: A person who knows a subject well, often an expert in it.
   - _To the initiate, the jargon of the trade reads as plainly as everyday speech._
   - _These essays assume their readers are initiates, not beginners._

## Adjective

Pronunciation: say "i-NISH-ee-uht" /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/

8. Newly begun or commenced; newly admitted, or introduced only to the rudiments of something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Just begun, or newly brought into a group or subject.
9. Unpracticed, untried, and new; lacking experience. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: New and without practice or experience.
   - _The initiate recruit froze at the first sound of gunfire._
   - _Such initiate workmanship betrayed a hand new to the trade._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 7** — Borrowed from Latin initiātus, from the verb initiō ("to begin, originate"), which comes from initium ("a beginning"). This traces back through in- plus eō ("to go"). It is related to French initier.
**Meanings 4–6** — Formed by turning the adjective into a noun (see etymology 1). It is related to French initié ("an initiate, neophyte").
**Meanings 8–9** — Borrowed from Latin initiātus, using the adjective-forming suffix -ate; see etymology 1 for more.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/initiate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).