initiatory

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
initiatory
    adj 1: serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural
           issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an
           initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden)
           speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage" [syn:
           {inaugural}, {initiative}, {initiatory}, {first},
           {maiden}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Initiatory \In*i"ti*a*to*ry\, n.
   An introductory act or rite. [R.]
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Initiatory \In*i"ti*a*to*ry\, a.
   1. Suitable for an introduction or beginning; introductory;
      prefatory; as, an initiatory step. --Bp. Hall.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Tending or serving to initiate; introducing by
      instruction, or by the use and application of symbols or
      ceremonies; elementary; rudimentary.
      [1913 Webster]

            Some initiatory treatises in the law. --Herbert.
      [1913 Webster]

            Two initiatory rites of the same general import can
            not exist together.                   --J. M. Mason.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
92 Moby Thesaurus words for "initiatory":
      abecedarian, aboriginal, antecedent, antenatal, anterior,
      autochthonous, autodidactic, baptismal, beginning, budding, chief,
      coeducational, creative, cultural, didactic, disciplinary,
      edifying, educating, educational, educative, elemental, elementary,
      embryonic, enlightening, exhortatory, exordial, fetal, first,
      foremost, formative, foundational, fundamental, gestatory,
      headmost, homiletic, hortatory, illuminating, in embryo,
      in its infancy, in the bud, inaugural, inceptive, inchoate,
      inchoative, incipient, incunabular, infant, infantile, informative,
      initial, initiative, instructive, introductive, introductory,
      inventive, leading, lecturing, nascent, natal, original,
      parturient, postnatal, preaching, precedent, preceding, preceptive,
      precessional, precursory, prefatory, pregnant, preliminary,
      preludial, prelusive, prenatal, preparatory, prevenient, primal,
      primary, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, prior,
      procreative, proemial, propaedeutic, rudimental, rudimentary,
      self-teaching, teaching, tuitionary, ur

    

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