initiate

== English == === Pronunciation === (verb) IPA(key): /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/, /ɪˈnɪʃ.ɪ.eɪt/ (noun, adjective) IPA(key): /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.ət/, /ɪˈnɪʃ.ɪ.ət/ Hyphenation: ini‧ti‧ate === Etymology 1 === 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. ==== Verb ==== initiate (third-person singular simple present initiates, present participle initiating, simple past and past participle initiated) (transitive) To begin; to start. (transitive) To instruct in the rudiments or principles; to introduce. (transitive) To confer membership on; especially, to admit to a secret order with mysterious rites or ceremonies. (intransitive) To do the first act; to perform the first rite; to take the initiative. ===== Synonyms ===== (to begin): commence, institute ===== Antonyms ===== (antonym(s) of “to begin”): stop, end, cease (to end temporarily) pause, halt, suspend (to end incompletely) discontinue (to end completely) finish, conclude, complete ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== resume (to begin where one left off) === Etymology 2 === From a substantivization of the adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French initié (“an initiate, neophyte”). ==== Noun ==== initiate (plural initiates) A new member of an organization. One who has been through a ceremony of initiation. One who is oriented in and familiar with a topic or subject; especially, one who is an expert in it. Antonyms: noninitiate, novice Coordinate terms: expert, nonexpert; layperson, amateur, dilettante; insider, old hand; journeyman, master; learner, student, teacher ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Borrowed from Latin initiātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. ==== Adjective ==== initiate (comparative more initiate, superlative most initiate) (obsolete) Unpracticed, untried, new. (obsolete) Begun, commenced, introduced to or in the rudiments (of), newly admitted. === Further reading === “initiate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “initiate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “initiate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. == Latin == === Participle === initiāte vocative masculine singular of initiātus