prefatory

American  

[pref-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈprɛf əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

Often prefatorial

adjective

1. of, relating to, or of the nature of a preface.

   prefatory explanations.

---

prefatory British  

/ ˌprɛfəˈtɔːrɪəl, ˈprɛfətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, involving, or serving as a preface; introductory

---

Other Word Forms

• prefatorily adverb

Etymology

Origin of prefatory

1665–75; < Latin praefāt ( iō ) preface + -ory ¹

Example Sentences

But biologists studying everything from yeast to snakes to humans have recently unearthed a plethora of so-called noncanonical ORFs, which lack those prefatory snippets and are shorter than average.

From Science Magazine

As Chin writes in a prefatory author’s note, her family’s history traveled down to her primarily via oral history.

From Washington Post

I dropped the prefatory clause, since everyone ignores anyway.

From Salon

The compass allows you to navigate out of sight of land and, naturally, Edward Wright’s prefatory letter to On the Magnet mentions the circumnavigations of the Earth by English sailors.

From Literature

“I have written for meaning rather than order,” she says in a prefatory note.

From New York Times