prolegomenon

[ proh-li-gom-uh-non, -nuhn ]

/ ˌproʊ lɪˈgɒm əˌnɒn, -nən /

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noun, plural pro·le·gom·e·na

[proh-li-gom-uh-nuh]. /ˌproʊ lɪˈgɒm ə nə/.

a preliminary discussion; introductory essay, as prefatory matter in a book; a prologue.

Usually prolegomena. (sometimes used with a singular verb) a treatise serving as a preface or introduction to a book.

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Origin of prolegomenon

1645–55; <New Latin <Greek prolegómenon, neuter of passive present participle of prolégein to say beforehand, equivalent to pro-pro-² + légein to say (akin to lógoslogos)

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

How to use prolegomenon in a sentence

What follows is my own stab at preemptive clarity: a brief Prolegomena to a Psychology of Elizabeth Cheney.
Daddy's Girl|Lee Siegel|March 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
If I refer to Strabo, in his remarkable Prolegomena, it is because he had occasion to consider the point particularly.
Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 1 of 3|W. E. Gladstone
Green has dealt with this aspect in the first part of his Prolegomena to Ethics in practically the same way as Eucken.
An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy|W. Tudor Jones
Green, in his Prolegomena to Ethics, has interpreted this aspect in a manner that ought not to be forgotten.
An Interpretation of Rudolf Eucken's Philosophy|W. Tudor Jones

There it occupies the place which, in the field of classical and historical scholarship, is taken by Wolf's Prolegomena to Homer.
Hugh Miller|William Keith Leask
The statement is substantially repeated in the same writers Prolegomena to Ethics.
The Methods of Ethics|Henry Sidgwick

British Dictionary definitions for prolegomenon

prolegomenon

/ (ˌprəʊlɛˈɡɒmɪnən) /

noun plural -na (-nə)

(often plural) a preliminary discussion, esp a formal critical introduction to a lengthy text

Derived forms of prolegomenon

prolegomenal, adjective

Word Origin for prolegomenon

C17: from Greek, from prolegein, from pro- ² + legein to say

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

prolegomenon

Origin of prolegomenon

Words related to prolegomenon

How to use prolegomenon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for prolegomenon

Derived forms of prolegomenon

Word Origin for prolegomenon