preliminary

adj.
Prior to or preparing for the main matter, action, or business; introductory or prefatory.

n., pl., -ies.

1. Something that precedes, prepares for, or introduces the main matter, action, or business.
2. An academic test or examination that is preparatory to one that is longer, more complex, or more important.
3. Sports. A contest to determine the finalists in a competition.
4. Sports. An event that precedes the main event of a particular program, especially in boxing or wrestling.
5. Printing. The front matter of a book. Often used in the plural.

[From New Latin praelīmināris : Latin prae-, pre- + Latin līmen, līmin-, threshold.]

preliminarily pre·lim'i·nar'i·ly (-nâr'ə-lē) adv.

SYNONYMS   preliminary, introductory, prefatory, preparatory. These adjectives mean going before and preparing the way for something else: a preliminary investigation; introductory remarks; an author's prefatory notes; preparatory steps.

adjective

1. Before or in preparation for the main matter, action, or business: inductive, introductory, prefatory, preparatory, prolegomenous. See start/end.
2. Serving to introduce a subject or person, for example: introductory, prefatory, preparatory, prolegomenous. See start/end, words.
3. Not perfected, elaborated, or completed: rough, sketchy, tentative, unfinished, unperfected, unpolished. See start/end.

adj

Definition: introductory, initial
Antonyms: closing, concluding, final

n

Definition: introductory event; beginning
Antonyms: closing, conclusion, finale

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IN BRIEF: Something that is done first.

Silence is a necessary preliminary to the ordering of one's thoughts. — Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - forberedende, foreløbig, indledende
n. - indledning, forprøve

Nederlands (Dutch)
voorafgaand aan (de hoofdgebeurtenis), preliminair, voorlopig, voorronde, voorafgaand

Français (French)
adj. - préliminaire, éliminatoire
n. - prélude à, (Sport) épreuve éliminatoire

Deutsch (German)
n. - Ausscheidungskämpfe
adj. - einleitend, vorbereitend

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - προκαταρκτικός αγώνας, (πληθ.) τα προκαταρκτικά
adj. - προκαταρκτικός, προκριματικός, (προ)εισαγωγικός

Italiano (Italian)
esame preliminare, esame d'ammissione, eliminatoria, preliminare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - preliminar, exame de admissão
adj. - preliminar

Русский (Russian)
прелюдия, отборочные соревнования, предварительный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - preliminar
n. - examen preliminar, eliminatoria

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förberedelse
adj. - preliminär, förberedande, förhands-, inledande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
初步的, 预备的, 开始的, 初步行动, 初步措施, 准备

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 初步的, 預備的, 開始的
n. - 初步行動, 初步措施, 準備

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 예비의, 준비의
n. - 준비, 예비행위[단계]

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 予備行為, 予備試験, 予選
adj. - 予備の, 前置きの

idioms:

• preliminary investigation    予備調査

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) توطئه, تمهيد (صفه) أولي, تمهيدي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮פותח, מוקדם, מכין, קודם ל-, טרם, מקדמי‬
n. - ‮משפט מוקדם, בחינה או תחרות מוקדמת‬

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