As an adjective, preliminary describes something done or happening before the main event, as a preparation or introduction. As a noun, it can mean an action, round, or test that comes before the main one.
“Preliminary” comes from Medieval Latin *praeliminarius*, from *prae-* (“before”) + *limen* (“threshold”). It suggests something you do before you cross into the main event.
Preliminaries can feel unimportant, but they often shape what’s even possible later on. In sports, meetings, or research, if the preliminaries are weak, the main event usually suffers quietly in the background.
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