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initiate

Pronunciation: /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/

The English word “initiate” has 9 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To begin; to start.
  2. To instruct in the rudiments or principles; to introduce.
  3. To confer membership on; especially, to admit to a secret order with mysterious rites or ceremonies.
  4. To do the first act; to perform the first rite; to take the initiative.

noun

  1. A new member of an organization.
  2. One who has been through a ceremony of initiation.
  3. One who is oriented in and familiar with a topic or subject; especially, one who is an expert in it.

adjective

  1. Unpracticed, untried, new.
  2. Begun, commenced, introduced to or in the rudiments (of), newly admitted.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin initiātus, perfect passive participle of initiō (“to begin, originate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from initium (“a beginning”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), from initus (“an entrance, coming in, approach”) + -ium, from ineō + -tus, from in- + eō (“to go”). Cognate with French initier.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.