Leaders of all links, teachers and even parents are very fond of the word “initiative”. Perhaps, implying that negligent listeners immediately get up and immediately begin to do something useful. But do they know how this concept arose and from what language the given word came from? What the initiative is and how dictionaries interpret it is described in this article.
Origin of the word
The word initiative came into Russian from the French language. In the language of glorious France there is a beautiful word initiative, which is translated as the beginning, foundation, conception. The meaning of the word “initiative” is close in meaning to the French counterpart. There is a version that both of these concepts have common roots: the Latin initium meant "beginning". In a similar or close sense, the word settled in all European languages of that time, but was used infrequently, in those days humility and meekness were held in high esteem. Only at the beginning of the XIX century there was an urgent need for initiative people, the era of private capital began.
Initiative and Dictionaries
What is the initiative now? The correct answer is in the dictionaries. At present, this concept means initiative, an incentive to complete some business, an independent desire for something, accompanied by active actions. From here came phrases that can already be considered idioms. To take the initiative means to independently start any actions.
The second meaning of this concept is to manage the situation. Taking the initiative in your own hands means leading and actively participating in any event. Moreover, the initiative also means responsibility for the decisions made. The ability to make important decisions on your own is what initiative is in the third sense of the word.
Antonym
The opposite of this concept will be such words as inertia, indifference, maybe even apathy. A person who is not able to take responsibility on himself will be called non-initiative, and that will be right. Without this personal quality, there are no good managers, executives, entrepreneurs. Making any decisions is always associated with a certain risk, but only a competent and proactive person is able to take control of the situation. Therefore, a successful leader or entrepreneur knows what an initiative is. This quality is necessarily present in his character and directly affects his career.