# preparation

Pronunciation: say "prep-uh-RAY-shuhn" /ˌpɹɛpəˈɹeɪʃən/

## Noun

1. The act of getting ready for something, or the work done to make it happen.
   - Simple: The work you do to get ready for something.
   - _Months of preparation went into the wedding._
   - _The team's careful preparation paid off when the storm hit._
2. The state or condition of being ready; readiness for what comes next.
   - Simple: Being ready for something that is going to happen.
   - _The city's preparation for the hurricane saved many lives._
   - _Years of training left her in a state of mental preparation for the championship._
3. A substance that has been made up for use, especially a medicine or remedy.
   - Simple: A medicine or mixture that someone has made for a special use.
   - _The pharmacist handed her a preparation for the rash._
   - _Old recipes describe preparations made from boiled roots and honey._
4. A part of an animal body preserved and mounted as a specimen for study.
   - Simple: A part of an animal's body that is kept and treated so people can study it.
   - _The anatomy lab kept a preparation of the dissected nerve._
   - _Each preparation was carefully labeled and stored in fluid._
5. The sounding of a note as part of one chord so that, held over into the following chord, it forms a dissonance.
   - Simple: In music, playing a note as part of one chord, then holding it into the next chord, where it clashes.
   - _The suspension works only because the preparation establishes the note in the previous chord._
   - _Counterpoint students learn to handle the preparation and resolution of every dissonance._
6. An object placed between or on the strings of a prepared piano to alter its tone.
   - Simple: A small object placed on or between a piano's strings to change its sound.
   - _Cage's score specifies exactly where each preparation must sit on the strings._
   - _The performer removed every preparation before playing the next piece._
7. Devotional exercises that introduce and lead into a religious office or service.
   - Simple: Prayers and spiritual exercises done before a church service begins.
   - _The monks recited a brief preparation before the daily office._
   - _Her prayer book opened with a preparation for the evening service._
8. The day before the Sabbath or another Jewish feast day, set aside for getting ready.
   - Simple: The day before the Sabbath or a Jewish feast day, used to get ready.
   - _The crucifixion accounts place the event on the Preparation, just before the Sabbath._
   - _Everything had to be finished during the Preparation, since no work was allowed afterward._

## Origin

The word came into Middle English as preparacion from Middle French preparacion, which came from Latin praeparatio (praeparationem). It is formed from 'prepare' plus the suffix '-ation'.

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