preliminary
adj.
1660s, from French préliminaire and directly from Medieval Latin praeliminaris, from Latin prae- "before" (see pre-) + limen (genitive liminis) "threshold" (see limit, n.). A word that arose in reference to negotiations to end the Thirty Years' War. Earliest attested form in English is preliminaries (n.), 1650s.
〔李〕[pre-=before 前；limin=threshold 门槛；-ary=being...的⇒“being before the threshold 未跨进门的”→] a. coming before the main business 预备的；初步的