Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRE-PAR'A-TIVE, n.

1. That which has the power of preparing or previously fitting for a purpose; that which prepares. Resolvedness that sin can with no reason be imagined a preparative to rehabilitation. – Decay of Peity.
2. That which is done to prevent an evil or secure some good. The miseries we suffer may be preparative of future blessings. – K. Charles.
3. Preparation; as, to make the necessary preparatives for voyage. – Dryden.