Wordwyrt

preliminary

/pɹɪˈlɪməˌneɹi/prih-LIH-muh-neh-ree
/pɹɪˈlɪməˌnɛɹi/prih-LIH-muh-neh-ree

Meaningbefore the threshold

Common meaning: coming before the main part

‘before’ + ‘a threshold’ → preliminary

Journey through time

  1. Latinlīmen, -inis‘a threshold’
  2. Frenchliminaire
  3. Englishpreliminary‘coming before the main part’ · today

pre- also in: prefixprecedeprecisepredictpreface

limin also in: eliminatesubliminal

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin līmen ‘a threshold’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry līmen, p. 1066 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

eliminatesubliminal

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app