prologue

American  

[proh-lawg, -log] / ˈproʊ lɔg, -lɒg /

Or prolog

noun

1. a preliminary discourse; a preface or introductory part of a discourse, poem, or novel.

2. an introductory speech, often in verse, calling attention to the theme of a play.

3. the actor or actress who delivers the introductory speech that calls attention to the theme of a play.

4. an introductory scene, preceding the first act of a play, opera, etc.

5. any introductory proceeding, event, etc..

   Appetizing delicacies were the prologue to a long dinner.

   Synonyms:

   prelude, opening, beginning, preamble

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verb (used with object)

prologued, prologuing

1. to introduce with or as if with a prologue.

prologue British  

/ ˈprəʊlɒɡ /

noun

1. 1. the prefatory lines introducing a play or speech

   2. the actor speaking these lines

2. a preliminary act or event

3. 1. an introductory scene in which a narrator summarizes the main action of the work

   2. a brief independent play preceding the opera, esp one in honour of a patron

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verb

1. (tr) to introduce or preface with or as if with a prologue

Other Word Forms

• prologist
  noun
• prologlike
  adjective
• prologuelike
  adjective
• prologuist
  noun
• unprologued
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of prologue

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English prolog(e), prologue, from Old French prologue and Latin prologus, from Greek prólogos; see pro- ², -logue

Explanation

With the lines, "Two households, both alike in dignity," Shakespeare begins the prologue to Romeo and Juliet, setting up the idea of two families who hate each other before introducing the lovers in the opening scene. Like its buddy epilogue, which tells you what happens after the end of a story, a prologue is concerned with setup of a story. "As a prologue to what happened in the gym, I'll tell you about the food fight in the cafeteria earlier that day."

Example Sentences

James Madison quipped: “A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy.”

From Slate • Feb. 6, 2025

Sales campaigns soared, historian C. L. Arbelbide wrote in Prologue.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2024

Before then, Honda in 2024 will get two new electric SUVs, the Honda Prologue and the Acura ZDX, from GM’s Spring Hills factory in Tennessee.

From Reuters • Mar. 3, 2023

Transporting Clinton’s records from Washington required eight flights of large C-5 military transport aircraft, Nancy Kegan Smith, a former archivist at NARA, wrote in a 2008 article for NARA’s Prologue magazine.

From Washington Post • Jan. 19, 2023

But the ideas in the Prologue to the Legend are largely the ideas of the Roman de la Rose.

From Medieval English Literature Home University of Modern Knowledge #43 by Ker, W. P. (William Paton)

Related Words

• foreword
• prelude