initio, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a. initium. To begin, originate (only late Lat.): ver tunc initiatur, Firm. 2, 12: brassicam seremus vel irriguo loco, vel pluviā initiante madefacto, when the rainy season begins (which begins again after the dog-days), Pall. 7, 4: ex his initiata sunt cetera, Tert. adv. Val. 15: initiatum jurgium, Cod. Just. 3, 6, 3 al.

— To initiate, consecrate, or admit to secret religious rites. Of the sacred mysteries of Ceres: initienturque eo ritu Cereri, quo Romae initiantur, Cic. Leg. 2, 15, 37; cf. id. ib. 2, 9, 21; Liv. 31, 14, 7; Just. 11, 7.

—Of other mysteries: initiari Bacchis, Liv. 39, 14, 8; 39, 9, 4: magicis cernis aliquem, Plin. 30, 2, 6, § 17; Varr. ap. Non. 108, 21.

— In gen., to initiate into, consecrate to any thing (rare): neque enim est sanctius sacris iisdem quam studiis initiari, Quint. 1, 2, 20: litteris, Plin. Ep. 5, 15, 8; Symm. Ep. 4, 20.

— To baptize (eccl. Lat.), Tert. Monog. 8, de Joh. Bapt.