Initiating

How to spell initiating

10 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce initiating

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does initiating mean?

1. verbCausing a process or action to begin; setting something in motion.
2. verbFormally admitting someone into a group, society, or set of practices.

Initiating in a sentence

• The manager is initiating a review of the entire department.

• The lodge spent the evening initiating three new members.

• Initiating the software update before lunch gives it time to finish.

• The trainer is initiating the recruits into the standard safety routine.

Where does initiating come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb initiare, meaning 'to begin' or 'to make a start', which was built on the noun initium, 'a beginning' or 'an entrance'. That noun in turn came from inire, 'to go in' or 'to enter', formed from in- 'into' and ire 'to go', so at its root the word literally pictures someone going in at the start of something. In Roman usage initiare also carried the special sense of admitting a person into secret religious rites, which is why English still speaks of 'initiating' a new member into a society. English took the verb 'initiate' in the early 1600s, and the present participle 'initiating' follows the regular pattern of dropping the final silent e before adding -ing. The same ire 'to go' root quietly powers a surprising family of English words, including 'exit', 'transit', and 'ambition', which can help anchor the single t and the -tiat- cluster that the spelling demands.

How the word is built

• in- (into)
• it (from Latin ire, to go)
• -iate (verb-forming)
• -ing (present participle)