The Only Use of
initiate
in
To Kill a Mockingbird
- Miss Blount, a native Maycombian as yet uninitiated in the mysteries of the Decimal System, appeared at the door hands on hips and announced: "If I hear another sound from this room I'll burn up everybody in it."
p. 24.7uninitiated = not introduced (not understanding)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in uninitiated means not and reverses the meaning of initiated. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
Definitions:
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(1)
(initiate as in: initiate discussions) to cause (something) to begin
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(2)
(initiate as in: initiate into the art of drumming) introduce to an activity or area of knowledge
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(3)
(initiate as in: initiate into the fraternity) to accept someone's membership into an organization -- typically in a ceremony -- sometimes including a period of instruction and/or test
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(4)
(initiate as in: She is a new initiate.) someone who has formally started in an organization, or been introduced to or attained some expertise in a particular field