Adjective

initial (not comparable)

1. Chronologically first, early; of or pertaining to the beginning, cause or origin

   Our initial admiration for their efficiency gave way to disgust about their methods

   The initial stages of a syndrome may differ vastly from the final symptoms

2. Spatially first, placed at the beginning, in the first position; especially said of the first letter of a word

Synonyms

• incipient
• opening

Antonyms

• final

Derived terms

• initially
• initialness

In a written work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a work, a chapter or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word comes from the Latin initialis, which means standing at the beginning. It is often several lines in height and in older books or manuscripts sometimes ornately decorated.

In illuminated manuscripts, initials with images inside them, like those illustrated here, are known as historiated initials; they were an invention of the Insular art of the British Isles in the 8th century. Initials containing, typically, plant-form spirals with small figures of animals or men that do not represent a specific person or scene are known as "inhabited" initials. Certain important initials, such as the B of Beatus vir ... at the opening of Psalm 1 at the start of a vulgate Latin psalter, could occupy a whole page of a manuscript.

These specific initials, in an illuminated manuscript, were also called Initiums.