preliminary

• præliminary (archaic)

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

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

• Audio (Southern England)

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• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: prĭlĭmʹĭnəri, IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈlɪmɪnəɹi/

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.

   • 1945 August 17, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 1, in Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC:

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

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)‎:

     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