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exordium

[ig-zawr-dee-uh m, ik-sawr-]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exordium ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ex·or·di·ums, ex·or·di·a [ig-zawr-dee-uh, ik-sawr-] /ɪgˈzɔr di ə, ɪkˈsɔr-/.

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

RELATED WORDS

debut, installation, opening, addition, presentation, inauguration, launch, initiation, preface, establishment, influx, signal, proposition, suggestion, invitation, proposal, bid, preamble, foreword, prologue

Origin of exordium

1525–35; < Latin exōrdium, equivalent to ex- ex-1 + ōrd(īrī) to begin + -ium -ium
Related formsex·or·di·al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exordium

Historical Examples of exordium

  • This passage is a palpable imitation of the exordium of the neis, and particularly the last line.

  • After this exordium I think I may proceed to narrate the journey of myself and family into Wales.

    Wild Wales

    George Borrow

  • Similarly, in the case of speeches, the exordium is prior in order to the narrative.

  • This toast is always so welcome and so highly appreciated that it needs no exordium from the chair.

  • The fine depth of tone in the exordium of Struensée and the fugue development in the main theme are also not to be despised.

    Musical Memories

    Camille Saint-Sans

British Dictionary definitions for exordium

exordium

noun plural -diums or -dia (-dɪə)

an introductory part or beginning, esp of an oration or discourse
Derived Formsexordial, adjective

Word Origin for exordium

C16: from Latin, from exōrdīrī to begin, from ōrdīrī to begin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012