preamble

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English preamble, from Old French preambule (French préambule), from Medieval Latin praeambulum, from praeambulō (I walk before).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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preamble (plural preambles)

  1. A short preliminary statement or remark, especially an explanatory introduction to a formal document or statute.
    Synonyms: foreword, preface, prologue; see also Thesaurus:foreword
    Antonyms: afterword, conclusion, epilogue, last word, postamble; see also Thesaurus:afterword
    • 2023 November 1, Robert Drysdale, “Leven is nearly back on track...”, in RAIL, number 995, page 58:
      The consultation preamble explains: "The planned timetable will be introduced in 2025 once we have completed the necessary steps required to ensure that we have enough resources to do so.
  2. (computing, networking) A syncword.

Translations

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Verb

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preamble (third-person singular simple present preambles, present participle preambling, simple past and past participle preambled)

  1. (intransitive) To speak or write a preamble; to provide a preliminary statement or set of remarks.
    • 1867, Simeon Thayer, Edwin Martin Stone, The Invasion of Canada in 1775: Including the Journal of Captain Simeon Chaper, pages 312–313:
      But these things being beside my main design, I will desist from preambling and come to the materials I have collected towards a history of the Baptists in this province.
    • 1982, Frank Davey, Pomestaysyun, page 20:
      Once I was young and had so much more orientation and could talk with nervous intelligence about everything and with clarity and without as much literary preambling as this; in other words this is the story of an unself-confident man, at the same time of an egomaniac.
    • 2016, Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow, →ISBN, page 473:
      So, what say we skip the preambling. Is it women? Money? Writer's block?

Further reading

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