Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. From the beginning.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. From the beginning.
Wiktionary
- adv. sciences Calculated from first principles, i.e. from basic laws without any further additional assumptions.
- adv. Taken with no prior qualifications.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. at the beginning
Etymologies
- From Latin ab ("from") + initiō, ablative singular of initium ("beginning"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin ab initiō : ab, from + initiō, ablative of initium, beginning. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Apostolicae sedi et antiquis ab initio nascentis ecclesiae et catholicis traditionibus tota mentis intentione, tota cordis alacritate, me conjungo.”
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI
“When she spoke of “adoptio” by God, or of “participatio dei,” for example, although a spiritual relationship continued to be understood, yet its basis and reality lay in a sacramental renewal of the physical nature: “Non ab initio dii facti sumus; sed primo quidem homines, tunc demum dii” (We were not made gods at first; at first we were men, thereafter we became gods at length).”
The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries
“* [1112] Eâ gratiâ fit ab initio fidei suæ homo quicunque Christianus, quâ gratiâ homo ille ab initio factus est Christus”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ab initio’.
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 503 more...
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Law School Terminology
Words that I'm learning in law school
pro tanto, obiter dictum, ratio decidendi, ex facie, ab initio, per saltum, assumpsit, escheat, mandamus, seisin, easement, estoppel and 40 more...
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Pop Latin
Commonly used Latin expressions
viva voce, vide supre, vide, supra, stet, status quo, sine qua non, sine die, sic, quid pro quo, pro rata, pro bono and 24 more...
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Latinate
lorem ipsum, citius, altius, fortius, curriculum vitae, bona fide, terra nullius, habeas corpus, quidnunc, voir dire, emeritus, quincunx and 99 more...
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A Matter Of Time
Favorite time-related words.
vespertine, twilight, gloaming, eftsoon, eventide, dawn, eos, dusk, witching hour, ephemeral, candlemark, autumnal and 122 more...
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My GRE
concomitant, mendacity, corollary, mandate, ascertain, exacerbate, substantiate, perennial, exemplify, hegemony, acrimonious, repertoire and 653 more...
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I am the law!
Words I learnt at law school
appeal, blackletter, contract, dictum, headnote, judgment, litigation, malfeasance, negligence, plaintiff, quantum, remedy and 216 more...
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jimmynewland's Words
steganography, incunabulum, dog days, geekhood, risorgimento, ab initio, slugabed, humanism, diddly-squat, doch-an-dorris, snickersnee, rictus and 198 more...
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jmjarmstrong's list
Words that I used to know.
geloscopy, hunker, willy nilly, harum scarum, whacko, meh, nork, misunderestimate, atrabiliousness, luftmensch, auxanometer, hyperhedonia and 1948 more...
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New Words
demiurge, impregnable, sibylline, shekhinah, hierophany, teshuvah, ontophany, madrigal, ply, apodictic, ab initio, sanguine and 22 more...
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Latinese
aliquid amari, res angusta, creta alba, ne plus ultra, sui generis, quotidian ennui, sine qua non, pari passu, ab initio, de novo, ad nauseam, tempus fugit and 11 more...
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TWEET
galled, ineffable, lypophrenia, pulchritude, dulcetness, scintillating, skirmish, pugnacious, rue, coveting, inane, expedient and 61 more...
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Latin phrases
ne plus ultra, ex post facto, cui bono, ne plus ultra, inter alia, ab initio
Tweets
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jmjarmstrong JM notes there are some folk who look backwards ‘ab initio’ Aug 9, 2009