prelude

  • noun 1 an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important. 2 a piece of music serving as an introduction to a longer piece. 3 the introductory part of a poem or other literary work.

  • verb serve as a prelude or introduction to.

  — ORIGIN Latin praeludium, from praeludere ‘play beforehand’.

Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary

About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day

Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names