exordium

[ ig-zawr-dee-uhm, ik-sawr- ]

noun

, plural ex·or·di·ums, ex·or·di·a [ig-, zawr, -dee-, uh, ik-, sawr, -].

1. the beginning of anything.
2. the introductory part of an oration, treatise, etc.

exordium

/ ɛkˈsɔːdɪəm /

noun

1. an introductory part or beginning, esp of an oration or discourse

Derived Forms

• exˈordial, adjective

Other Words From

• ex·ordi·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exordium¹

1525–35; < Latin exōrdium, equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + ōrd ( īrī ) to begin + -ium -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of exordium¹

C16: from Latin, from exōrdīrī to begin, from ōrdīrī to begin

Example Sentences

From the exordium, forwards, I followed his words closely, and lost none of his arguments.

From Project Gutenberg

This exordium is followed by a new invitation to come to Paris with all speed to talk over everything.

From Project Gutenberg

She replied through the Count of Staremberg, her minister for German affairs, that such an exordium deserved no answer at all.

From Project Gutenberg

A single allusion to Greece, as the mistress of the world in letters and arts, found an appropriate place in the exordium.

From Project Gutenberg

That Lucretian Exordium he must have written in one of his happiest veins—under the sting of the poetical œstrum.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• addition
• debut
• establishment
• inauguration
• influx
• initiation
• installation
• launch
• opening
• preface
• presentation