Definition: initiatory

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Source: WordNet (r) 1.7 

initiatory
     adj : serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue";
           "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an
           initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or
           maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden
           voyage" [syn: inaugural, initiative, first, maiden]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 

Initiatory \In*i"ti*a*to*ry\, a.
   1. Suitable for an introduction or beginning; introductory;
      prefatory; as, an initiatory step. --Bp. Hall.

   2. Tending or serving to initiate; introducing by
      instruction, or by the use and application of symbols or
      ceremonies; elementary; rudimentary.

            Some initiatory treatises in the law. --Herbert.

            Two initiatory rites of the same general import can
            not exist together.                   --J. M. Mason.
Initiatory \In*i"ti*a*to*ry\, n.
   An introductory act or rite. [R.]