Preparation, n.
Etymology: [F. préparation, L. praeparatio. See Prepare.]
1. The act of preparing or fitting beforehand for a particular purpose, use, service, or condition; previous arrangement or adaptation; a making ready; as, the preparation of land for a crop of wheat; the preparation of troops for a campaign.
2. The state of being prepared or made ready; preparedness; readiness; fitness; as, a nation in good preparation for war.
3. That which makes ready, prepares the way, or introduces; a preparatory act or measure. I will show what preparations there were in nature for this dissolution. T. Burnet.
4. That which is prepared, made, or compounded by a certain process or for a particular purpose; a combination. Specifically: (a) Any medicinal substance fitted for use. (b) Anything treated for preservation or examination as a specimen. (c) Something prepared for use in cookery. I wish the chemists had been more sparing who magnify their preparations. Sir T. Browne. In the preparations of cookery, the most volatile parts of vegetables are destroyed. Arbuthnot.
4 more senses
5. An army or fleet. [Obs.] Shak.
6. (Mus.)
The holding over of a note from one chord into the next chord, where it forms a temporary discord, until resolved in the chord that follows; the anticipation of a discordant note in the preceding concord, so that the ear is prepared for the shock. See Suspension.
7. Accomplishment; qualification. [Obs.] Shak.