prolegomenon
Americannoun
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prolegomena
plural
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a preliminary discussion; introductory essay, as prefatory matter in a book; a prologue.
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(sometimes used with a singular verb) Usually prolegomena. a treatise serving as a preface or introduction to a book.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
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 lógos logos )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Sovereign Nations is a group that, on its website, describes itself “as a prolegomenon to the formation of a new, and not just sentimental, conservative and Constitutional Republic.”
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2018
Instead, what emerged from the session was yet another prolegomenon to future negotiations, brokered at the very last minute—and over the objections of many other world leaders—by President Barack Obama.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 24, 2015
A second prolegomenon: believe it or not, I don’t dislike Brad DeLong.
From Forbes ● Sep. 22, 2014
He gives an account of the various sciences, natural and philosophical, as a prolegomenon to the study of theology, even of the mystic teachings of Vital's Gates of Holiness.
From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin
The play, one feels, must remain unique, for the prolegomenon cannot be rewritten while the philosophy is unchanged.
From G. K. Chesterton, A Critical Study by Julius West
With these prolegomena, he launched into the discussion of the terms we have offered to debtor nations.
From Time Magazine Archive
Next come prefaces, prolegomena, and "previous dissertations," examining the lives, actions, and miracles of the Saints, authorship and history of the manuscripts, and other literary and historical questions.
From The Contemporary Review, January 1883 Vol 43, No. 1 by Various
In 1894 this was republished, with prolegomena, in vol. ix. of 'Collected Essays,' with the title, "Evolution and Ethics, and other Essays."
From Recent Tendencies in Ethics by William Ritchie Sorley
The Aids were but of the nature of prolegomena.
From An Outline of the History of Christian Thought Since Kant by Edward Caldwell Moore
Westerhovius, in the prolegomena to his edition, 1726, enumerates not fewer than 248 editions of Terence previous to his time.
From History of Roman Literature from its Earliest Period to the Augustan Age. Volume II by John Dunlop
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
