English
initial
Initial comes from Middle French initial, from Latin initiālis, from initium ‘beginning’, from ineō ‘to go into’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éyti‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eō‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*eneō‘to go in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEineō‘to go into, enter’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinitium‘beginning; entrance’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinitiālis‘initial’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600initial
- Englishearliest quotation 1892same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éyti‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eō‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*eneō‘to go in’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEineō‘to go into, enter’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinitium‘beginning; entrance’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEinitiālis‘initial’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600initial
- Englishearliest quotation 1892same form
Earliest quotation: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti ‘to go, to be going’
ion, isthmus, cation, anionic, 23 more
through Latin eō ‘to go’
issue, transition, exit, ambient, ambitious, ambition, trance, transient, obituary, eyre, sedition, transitory, ambiance, transitive, praetor, seditious, ambit, obit, 25 more
Today it means
adj Chronologically first, early; of or pertaining to the beginning, cause or origin.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- / initial