Adjective.
Pronunciation and accent: prɪpærətərɪ.
Etymology: from Latin præparatus, which is
preterite participle of præparare (= to prepare), analysed into prae- (= pre-) + parare (= prepare).
1. Used or done in order to prepare for something; used or done as a
preparation to do or use something else.
Equivalents: French préparatoire; Spanish preparatorio; Italian preparatorio.
Antonyms: posterior, subsequent.
Synonyms: introductory, preparative, preliminary.
The
driver settled himself back in his seat, and after a few preparatory coughs, and a swallow of brandy, to clear his throat,
began his narration.
Allan Pinkerton… The Burglar's Fate and the Detectives
He seized on the flagon accordingly, and drinking a preparatory mouthful, paused as if to
estimate the strength and flavour of the generous liquor. Apparently he was
pleased with both, for he nodded in approbation to the butler.
Walter Scott… The Betrothed
-) With the preposition to + a noun or a gerund by which the final purpose is
designated:
A
long hiss, which it [the serpent] uttered, and which I deemed preparatory to its springing at me, wound up my feelings to a pitch
of desperation.
Robert Gillies… Tales of a voyager to the Arctic ocean
[…]
those who have not had the advantage of good instruction preparatory to matriculation.
James Pycroft… The student’s guide…
This
cannonade was preparatory to another attack.
The illustrated history of the war against Russia, vol. 1
The
child will not improve himself by repeating the actions of writings but by
repeating the acts preparatory to writing.
Maria Montessori… The Discovery of the Child
[Malting] is a process preparatory to brewing or distilling.
The Farmer’s magazine, vol. 4
-) This construction “preparatory to” is
idiomatic where it is referred to a clause instead of to a noun. In the
following quotation, “Dr. Sly, who was flourishing a carving-knife and fork, preparatory to dissecting a
gorgeous haunch, had these fearful instruments suddenly precipitated into a
trifle, from whose sugared trellis-work he found great difficulty in
extricating them”, the “preparatory to” combination refers to the action of flourishing the instruments. Such
idiomatic construction is qualified as quasi-adverbial, because it can not
qualify as an adverb, being impossible for it to modify independently an
adjective or other adverb. This construction may also be interpreted as
referring to the implicit noun of “action”.
Thus, “Dr. Sly, who was flourishing a carving-knife and fork, [action] preparatory to dissecting a gorgeous haunch…”
-) It is equivalent to preparatorily.
Dr.
Sly, who was flourishing a carving-knife and fork, preparatory
to dissecting
a gorgeous haunch, had these fearful instruments suddenly precipitated into a
trifle, from whose sugared trellis-work he found great difficulty in
extricating them.
Benjamin Disraeli… Vivian Grey
[…]
when he descended to the office of the hotel, preparatory
to partaking
of his morning repast, he noticed with some little surprise that a new face was
behind the counter.
Allan Pinkerton… The Detectives
[Jonas]
put on his hat and greatcoat preparatory to escorting them [the ladies]
to Todgers's.
Charles Dickens… Martin Chuzzlewit
As the beadle coughed, preparatory
to
bidding her good night, bashfully inquired whether- whether he wouldn't take a
cup of tea?
Charles Dickens… Oliver
Twist
[Maria]
was standing in the gang-way, wrapped in her cloak, adjusting her veil over her
face preparatory to descending, when some one
blundered against her.
Captain Merry… The gold seekers
They
were discussing their piratical plans, in which all we could hear distinctly
was, that they would unite with the crew of a schooner Hornet, and, if
possible, get the schooner herself into their possession preparatory to some attempt on a large scale, the particulars of
which could not be made out by either of us.
Edgar Poe… The Narrative…
I
was caressing her vulva with my hand preparatory to cunnilingus, when I
inadvertently let a finger stray into the crevice of her buttocks, and its tip
pressed into her anus. She stiffened and cried out, and almost instantly went
into orgasm.
Nancy
Friday… Forbidden flowers
2. a. (Of a school) in which pupils are prepared for a pupildom to
follow either in other school qualified as “advanced”, or in a college. b. (Of a scholar) being a pupil in a preparatory
school; being prepared in a preparatory school.
c. (Of something) of or pertaining to preparatory school.
[…] this is what concerns the actual practitioner rather than the preparatory student.
The Critical review, vol. 21
The
schools of preparatory instruction.
Henry Hallam… Introduction to the literature of Europe
3. (As a noun, the
plural being preparatories): a. Obsolete employment. Preparative act; preparative. b. Preparatory school.
Other English words
derived from, or compounded with one of the radicals of Latin parare: apparatus, disparate, disparately, disparateness,
emperorship, emperor, parapet, parasol, paravent, pare, pared, pareable,
unpared, parry (noun, verb), parried, parrying, repair (noun, verb),
repairability, repairable, repairableness, repaired, repairer, repairing,
unrepaired, unrepairable, separate (noun, adj. verb), separatedly, separately,
separateness, separating (noun, adj.), separation, separationism,
separationist, separatism, separatist, separatistic, separative, separatively,
separativeness, separator, separatress, separatory, separatrix, unseparated,
separable, separableness, separably, separabililty, inseparable,
inseparability, inseparableness, inseparably, inseparate, inseparately,
inseparation, vituperate, vituperant, vituperate (verb, adj.), vituperated,
vituperation, vituperative, vituperatively, empire, imperative, imperatively,
imperativeness, imperator, imperatorship, imperatorial, imperatorially,
imperial, imperialism, imperialist, imperialistic, imperialistically,
imperiality, imperialize, imperialization, imperially, imperialness,
imperialty, imperation, imperatival, unimperative, parachute (noun, verb),
parachuted, parachuter, parachuting, parachutist, parachutism, parade (noun,
verb), paraded, paradeful, paradeless, parader, rampart (noun, verb),
ramparted, ramparting, rampire, rampired, rampiring, sever, severable,
severality, severalize, severally, severalty, severance, severation, severed,
severer, severing, severingly, unsevered, unseveredly, unseverable,
unseverably, inseverable, inseverably, prepare (noun, verb), preparable,
preparation, preparative, preparatively, preparator, preparatorily, prepared,
preparedly, preparedness, preparer, preparing, preparingly, unprepared,
unpreparation, unprepare, unpreparedly, unpreparedness, parison.
