initialize

verb

1. (British, English, Oxford, US)To assign initial values to something.
2. (British, English, Oxford, US)To assign an initial value to a variable.
3. (British, English, Oxford, US)To format a storage medium prior to use.
4. (British, English, Oxford, US)To prepare any hardware (such as a printer or scanner) for use.
5. (British, English, Oxford, US, dated)To reduce (a phrase) to an initialism, or a word to its initial.