prelude
pronunciation
How to pronounce prelude in British English:
UK [ˈpreljuːd]
How to pronounce prelude in American English:
US [ˈpreljuːd]
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- Noun:
- something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
- music that precedes a fugue or introduces an act in an opera
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- Verb:
- serve as a prelude or opening to
- play as a prelude
Word Origin
- prelude (n.)
- 1560s, from Middle French prélude "notes sung or played to test the voice or instrument" (1530s), from Medieval Latin preludium "prelude, preliminary," from Latin praeludere "to play beforehand for practice, preface," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Purely musical sense first attested in English 1650s. Related: Prelusion.
Antonym
Example
- 1. That might be a prelude to bigger policy changes .
- 2. He thinks the public debate about sovereign-wealth funds is the prelude to action against them and that the " kindling is dry " .
- 3. Yet it was all simply prelude .
- 4. A constitutional settlement-or a prelude to more trouble ?
- 5. This policy was a prelude to our unwarranted and illegal invasion and occupation of iraq .