preliminary

• præliminary (archaic)

Borrowed from New Latin praelīmināris, formed from prae- (“before”) + līmen (“threshold”) + -āris (adjectival suffix); compare Latin līmināris (“of or belonging to a threshold”). Compare French préliminaire.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: prĭlĭmʹĭnəri, IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈlɪmɪn(ə)ɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• (General American) enPR: prĭlĭmʹĭnĕri, IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈlɪmɪnɛɹi/, /pɹiˈlɪmɪnɛɹi/

preliminary (not comparable)

1. In preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.

   Synonyms: initial, introductory, preparatory

   Antonyms: definitive, final

   These are just the preliminary results.

   • 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

     And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into 'Beasts of England' in tremendous unison.

   • 2025 April 28, Kate Travis, “Experiment using AI-generated posts on Reddit draws fire for ethics concerns”, in Retraction Watch‎^[1]:

     The Zurich group has shared a preliminary writeup of its findings.

preliminary (plural preliminaries)

1. A preparation for a main matter; an introduction.
   • 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)‎^[2]:

     In the Chinese novels, often of a very literary character, devoted to masculine love, it seems that all the preliminaries and transports of normal love are to be found, while physical union may terminate the scene.

2. Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists
3. A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing