proem

[ proh-em ]

See synonyms for proem on Thesaurus.com

noun

an introductory discourse; introduction; preface; preamble.

Origin of proem

1350–1400; <Latin prooemium<Greek prooímion prelude (pro-pro-² + oím(ē) song + -ion diminutive suffix); replacing Middle English proheme<Middle French <Latin, as above

Other words from proem

pro·e·mi·al [proh-ee-mee-uhl, -em-ee-], /proʊˈi mi əl, -ˈɛm i-/, adjective

Words Nearby proem

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use proem in a sentence

After writing these words I read to G. the proem and opening scene of my novel, and he expressed great delight in them.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. II (of 3) | George Eliot
In the proem to this idyl I seem to see two shadowy figures passing up and down over a lonesome land.
Summer Cruising in the South Seas | Charles Warren Stoddard
Machiavelli lays much stress upon this in the proem to his Istorie Fiorentine.
The Story of Florence | Edmund G. Gardner
The opening—the proem I believe he calls it—is very beautiful.
Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters | William Austen-Leigh and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh
proem, printed in two of his books, is certainly the best thing he has done hitherto.
Kentucky in American Letters, v. 1 of 2 | John Wilson Townsend

British Dictionary definitions for proem

proem

/ (ˈprəʊɛm) /

noun

an introduction or preface, such as to a work of literature

Origin of proem

C14: from Latin prooemium introduction, from Greek prooimion, from pro- ² + hoimē song

Derived forms of proem

proemial (prəʊˈiːmɪəl), adjective

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

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