initiative

From French initiative, from Medieval Latin *initiativus (“serving to initiate”), from Late Latin initiare (“to begin, Latin initiate”), from Latin initium (“beginning”), from ineo (“enter, begin”).

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɪʃətɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʃətɪv

initiative (not comparable)

1. Serving to initiate; inceptive; initiatory; introductory; preliminary.
2. In which voter initiatives can be brought to the ballot.
   • a. 2008, John G. Matsusaka, "Direct Democracy and the Executive Branch", in, 2008, Shaun Bowler and Amihai Glazer, editors, Direct Democracy's Impact on American Political Institutions, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 122 :

     The second row shows that initiative states fill more constitutional offices by election than noninitiative states, and the difference is statistically significant after controlling for region and population.

• noninitiative

initiative (countable and uncountable, plural initiatives)

1. A beginning; a first move.
2. A new development; a fresh approach to something; a new way of dealing with a problem.
3. The ability to act first or on one's own.
4. (politics) An issue to be voted on, brought to the ballot by a sufficient number of signatures from among the voting public.

   Hyponym: direct initiative

• “initiative”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “initiative”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “initiative”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

From Medieval Latin *initiativus (“serving to initiate”), from Late Latin initiare (“to begin, Latin initiate”), from Latin initium (“beginning”), from ineo (“enter, begin”).

• IPA^(key): /i.ni.sja.tiv/

• Audio

  (file)

initiative f (plural initiatives)

1. initiative

   prendre l’initiative ― to take the initiative

   faire preuve d’initiative ― to show initiative

• syndicat d’initiative

• “initiative”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.