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preliminary (adj.)
"preceding and leading up to something more important," 1660s, from French préliminaire and directly from Medieval Latin praeliminaris, from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + limen (genitive liminis) "threshold" (see limit (n.)). A word that arose in reference to painstaking diplomatic negotiations to end the Thirty Years' War. Earliest attested form in English is preliminaries (n.) "things which lead up to or introduce following matter or events," 1650s.
updated on October 17, 2020
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Dictionary entries near preliminary
prelacy
prelapsarian
prelate
pre-law
prelim
preliminary
prelude
premarital
premature
pre-med
premedical