preparatory
UK: /prɪˈpærətəri/ | US: /prɪˈpærətɔːri/
adj. relating to or serving as preparation; preliminary
adj. (education) designed to prepare students for higher-level study
The word "preparatory" traces back to Latin praeparatorius, derived from praeparare (to make ready beforehand). The morpheme pre- (before) combines with parare (to prepare, arrange), which also gives us words like "prepare" and "apparatus." The suffix -atory forms adjectives indicating a relationship to the action (e.g., "mandatory"). Over time, "preparatory" evolved to describe anything serving as a preliminary step, especially in educational contexts.
The school offers a two-year preparatory program for medical studies.
She attended a preparatory meeting to discuss the project outline.
These exercises are preparatory to the main training session.
The team conducted preparatory research before the experiment.
His remarks were merely preparatory to the main announcement.