prolegomenon
[proh-li-gom-uh-non, -nuh n]
- 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
ingressawakeninginsertionprefaceprimerleadadditionpreambleadmittancelead-ininitiationpresentationforewordopeninginaugurationovertureinceptioninstallationestablishmentpreludeExamples from the Web for prolegomenon
Historical Examples
The play, one feels, must remain unique, for the prolegomenon cannot be rewritten while the philosophy is unchanged.
G. K. Chesterton, A Critical StudyJulius West
The miscellanies really stand to the novels in the relation of a sort of prolegomenon.
BalzacFrederick Lawton
prolegomenon
- (often plural) a preliminary discussion, esp a formal critical introduction to a lengthy text
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for prolegomenon
n.
1650s, "learned preamble to a book," from Greek prolegomenon, noun use of neuter passive present participle of prolegein "to say beforehand," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + legein "to speak" (see lecture (n.)) + suffix -menos (as in alumnus). The same sense is in preface (n.). Related: Prolegomenary; prolegomenous.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper