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preface

noun
/ˈpɹɛfəs/US/prifeːs/

Etymology

Late 14th century, from Middle English preface, prefas, from Old French preface (from which derives the modern French préface), from Medieval Latin prefātia, for classical Latin praefātiō (“a saying beforehand”), from praefor (“to speak beforehand”), from prae- (“beforehand”) + for (“to speak”).

  1. derived from praefātiō
  2. derived from prefātia
  3. derived from preface
  4. inherited from preface

Definitions

  1. A beginning or introductory portion that comes before the main text of a document or…

    A beginning or introductory portion that comes before the main text of a document or book, typically serving to contextualize or explain the writing of the book and sometimes to acknowledge others' contributions; especially, such a discussion written by the work's own author.

    • Holonyms: front matter, prelims
    • The book included a brief preface explaining the author's motivations for writing.

  2. An introduction, or series of preliminary remarks.

    • This superficial tale / Is but a preface of her worthy praise.
    • Heav'ns high behest no preface needs.
    • And now, without any further preface, we proceed to our next chapter.

  3. A variable prayer forming the prelude or introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer or canon…

    A variable prayer forming the prelude or introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer or canon of the Mass, following the Sursum corda dialogue and leading into the Sanctus.

    • Meronyms: protocol, embolism, eschatocol
  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. A title or epithet.

      • […] a black-tie dinner to celebrate on the eve of the ceremony which would remove the preface "Sir" from his name and replace it with the preface "Lord," thought by some to be one of the most potent words in the English language.

    2. To introduce or make a comment before (the main point)

      To introduce or make a comment before (the main point); to premise.

      • Let me preface this by saying that I don't know him that well.

    3. To give a preface to.

      • to preface a book

    4. Alternative letter-case form of preface (“prayer before the canon of the Mass”).

The neighborhood

Derived

postface, prefaceless, prefacer, prefacist

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at preface. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01preface02preliminary03sports04physical05matter06preceded07precede

A definitional loop anchored at preface. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at preface

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA