Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "initiate" come from? It comes from Latin initiare, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "initiate" come from? It comes from Latin initiare, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
Initiate’s story begins in Latin: initiare meant “to begin, admit to rites.” From 'initium', beginning. It reached English by 1600s as initiate. 'initial' shares the root. Today, initiate means to cause to begin.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient initiare "to begin, admit to rites", from 'initium', beginning.
- Stage 2 · English · 1600s initiate "to admit to rites", 'initial' shares the root.