in·i·tial

[ih-nish-uhl] adjective, noun, verb, in·i·tialed, in·i·tial·ing or (especially British) in·i·tialled, in·i·tial·ling.
adjective
1.
of, pertaining to, or occurring at the beginning; first: the initial step in a process.
2.
Phonetics. occurring at the beginning of a word or syllable, as the (k) sound of kite, chasm, or quay.
noun
3.
an initial letter, as of a word.
4.
the first letter of a proper name.
5.
a letter of extra size or an ornamental character used at the beginning of a chapter or other division of a book, manuscript, or the like.
00:10
Initial is always a great word to know.
So is point. Does it mean:
For the 'l' sound, having front-vowel resonance; situated before a vowel in the same syllable; produced without frication or aspiration
a diacritic indicating a vowel or other modification of sound
verb (used with object)
6.
to mark or sign with an initial or the initials of one's name, especially as a token of preliminary or informal approval.

Origin:
1520–30; < Latin initiālis, equivalent to initi(um) beginning (init-, noun derivative of inīre to enter, begin; in- in-2 + īre to go; cf. comes) + -ium -ium) + -alis -al1

in·i·tial·er, noun
in·i·tial·ly, adverb
pre·in·i·tial, verb (used with object)
sub·in·i·tial, verb (used with object), sub·in·i·tialed, sub·in·i·tial·ing or (especially British) sub·in·i·tialled, sub·in·i·tial·ling.
un·in·i·tialed, adjective
un·in·i·tialled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
initial (ɪˈnɪʃəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  of, at, or concerning the beginning
 
n
2.  the first letter of a word, esp a person's name
3.  printing a large sometimes highly decorated letter set at the beginning of a chapter or work
4.  botany a cell from which tissues and organs develop by division and differentiation; a meristematic cell
 
vb , -tials, -tialling, -tialled, -tials, -tialing, -tialed
5.  (tr) to sign with one's initials, esp to indicate approval; endorse
 
[C16: from Latin initiālis of the beginning, from initium beginning, literally: an entering upon, from inīre to go in, from in-² + īre to go]
 
in'itialer
 
n
 
in'itialler
 
n
 
in'itially
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

initial
1526, "of or pertaining to a beginning," from L. initialis "initial, incipient," from initium "a beginning, an entrance," from pp. stem of inire "to go into, enter upon, begin," from in- "into, in" + ire "to go" (see ion). Meaning "standing at the beginning of a word, sentence,
etc." (1622) led to noun sense of "initial letter of a name or surname" (1627). The verb meaning "to mark or sign with initials" is from 1864.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Their initial bliss was soon dispelled by an unwelcome development.
As you might have guessed, this is a positive feedback that amplifies the
  initial climate perturbation.
Show how punctuation is related to sense, how and when a compound word is used,
  the significance of capital initial letters.
He has not yet incorporated the material into a working solar cell, but his
  initial experimental results look promising.
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