ab initio

EnglishEdit

From Latin ab ‎(“from”) + initiō, ablative singular of initium ‎(“beginning”).

(law) From the time when a legal document comes into force. [Early 17^th century.]^[1]
(sciences) Calculated from first principles, i.e. from basic laws without any further additional assumptions.
- 1983, Monty Python, The meaning of life, at about 1h 15':
  […] this soul does not exist ab initio, as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved, owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
(of an academic course) Taken with no prior qualifications.

referring to the time from when a legal document comes into force

calculated from first principles, i.e. from basic laws without any further additional assumptions

taken with no prior qualifications

^ Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 4