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INITIAL
INITIAL, also initial letter, point.
1. The first LETTER of a WORD, usually capitalized in a proper NAME: the L of London, the G, B, S of George Bernard Shaw. The practice of using initials or POINTS in handwriting and print has encouraged the growth of such ABBREVIATIONS as symbols, formulas, INITIALISMS, and ACRONYMS: for example, a stands, among others, for acre and are (units of land measurement); e.g. stands for LATIN exempli gratia for the sake of an example; BBC for British Broadcasting Corporation; NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 2. The large ornamental letter at the start of a page or chapter, especially in an illuminated manuscript. |
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TOM McARTHUR. "INITIAL." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "INITIAL." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-INITIAL.html TOM McARTHUR. "INITIAL." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-INITIAL.html |
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initial
in·i·tial / iˈnishəl/ • adj. existing or occurring at the beginning: our initial impression was favorable. ∎ (of a letter) at the beginning of a word. • n. (usu. initials) the first letter of a name or word, typically a person's name or a word forming part of a phrase: they carved their initials into the tree trunk. • v. (-tialed , -tial·ing ; Brit. -tialled, -tial·ling) [tr.] mark or sign (a document) with one's initials, esp. in order to authorize or validate it. ∎ agree to or ratify (a treaty or contract) by signing it. |
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"initial." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "initial." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-initial.html "initial." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-initial.html |
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initial
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T. F. HOAD. "initial." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "initial." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-initial.html T. F. HOAD. "initial." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-initial.html |
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initial
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "initial." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "initial." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-initial.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "initial." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-initial.html |
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initial
initial One of a group of cells (or, in lower plants, a single cell) that divides to produce the cells of a plant tissue or organ. The cells of the apical meristem, cambium, and cork cambium are initials.
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"initial." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "initial." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-initial.html "initial." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-initial.html |
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initial
initial •circumstantial, financial, substantial
•court-martial, impartial, marshal, martial, partial
•especial, special
•cadential, confidential, consequential, credential, deferential, differential, essential, evidential, existential, experiential, exponential, influential, intelligential, irreverential, jurisprudential, penitential, pestilential, potential, preferential, presidential, providential, prudential, quintessential, referential, residential, reverential, sapiential, sciential, sentential, sequential, tangential, torrential
•abbatial, facial, fascial, glacial, interracial, multiracial, palatial, primatial, racial, spatial
•artificial, beneficial, initial, interstitial, judicial, official, sacrificial, solstitial, superficial
•provincial • seneschal • equinoctial
•asocial, precocial, psychosocial, social
•crucial, fiducial
•bushel
•antenuptial, nuptial
•commercial, controversial, Herschel, inertial, infomercial
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"initial." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "initial." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-initial.html "initial." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-initial.html |
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