different between initialism vs initiative

English

Etymology

initial +? -ism

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n???l?z?m/

Noun

initialism (plural initialisms)

1. (linguistics) A term formed from the initial letters of several words or parts of words, but which is itself pronounced letter by letter.

2. (linguistics) The process of forming words or terms using initial letters of other words.

Translations

See also

• abbreviation
• acronym
• TLA
• Category:English shortenings
• abecedism

Further reading

• initialism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From French initiative, from Medieval Latin *initiativus (“serving to initiate”), from Late Latin initiare (“to begin, Latin initiate”), from Latin initium (“beginning”), from ineo (“enter, begin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n???t?v/
• Rhymes: -???t?v

Adjective

initiative (not comparable)

1. Serving to initiate; inceptive; initiatory; introductory; preliminary.
2. In which voter initiatives can be brought to the ballot.
   • a. 2008, John G. Matsusaka, "Direct Democracy and the Executive Branch", in, 2008, Shaun Bowler and Amihai Glazer, editors, Direct Democracy's Impact on American Political Institutions, Palgrave Macmillan, ?ISBN, page 122 [1]:

     The second row shows that initiative states fill more constitutional offices by election than noninitiative states, and the difference is statistically significant after controlling for region and population.

Antonyms

• noninitiative

Translations

Noun

initiative (countable and uncountable, plural initiatives)

1. A beginning; a first move.
2. A new development; a fresh approach to something; a new way of dealing with a problem.
3. The ability to act first or on one's own.
4. An issue to be voted on, brought to the ballot by a sufficient number of signatures from among the voting public.

Synonyms

• (issue to be voted on): direct initiative

Derived terms

• direct initiative

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• initiative in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• initiative in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• initiative at OneLook Dictionary Search

French

Etymology

From *Medieval Latin initiativus (“serving to initiate”), from Late Latin initiare (“to begin, Latin initiate”), from Latin initium (“beginning”), from ineo (“enter, begin”).

Pronunciation

Noun

initiative f (plural initiatives)

1. initiative
   • Prendre l'initiative.

Derived terms

• syndicat d'initiative

Further reading

• “initiative” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).