prelude
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prelude
- /ˈpɹɛljuːd/ UK
- /ˈpɹiːluːd/ UK
- /ˈpɹeɪl(j)uːd/ Canada, US
- /ˈpɹɛl(j)uːd/ Canada, US
- /ˈpɹiːl(j)uːd/ Canada, US
- /ˈpɹɛlɪu̯d/ Wales
Where it comes from
From Middle French prélude (“singing to test a musical instrument”), from Medieval Latin preludium, from Latin praelūdere.
noun preludes · prælude
-
An introductory or preliminary performance or event.
Adam Schiff, a Democratic senator from California, called it a “very dangerous escalation and a prelude to potential conflict”.
Similar: preface
- A short, free-form piece of music, originally one serving as an introduction to a longer and more complex piece; later, starting with the Romantic period, generally a stand-alone piece.
- A standard module or library of subroutines and functions to be imported, generally by default, into a program. In the same way that Rust has a general prelude that brings certain types and functions into scope automatically, the std::io module has its own prelude of common types and functions you'll need when working with I/O.
- A forerunner to anything. Swimmings of the head and intestinal pains seemed the prelude of dissolution.
Similar: forestory
verb preludes · preluding · preluded · prælude
- To introduce something, as a prelude.
- To play an introduction or prelude; to give a prefatory performance. The musicians preluded on their instruments.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: preliminary, overture, prologue, foreword, preface, preamble, lead-up, precursor, prior, anticipation, forecasting, prediction, foretaste, forecast, harbinger, precedent
noun
Similar: forestory
Translations
Talk about this word "prelude." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/prelude. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. prelude. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/prelude "prelude." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/prelude.Cite this
@misc{prelude_2026,
title = {prelude},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/prelude},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
