preamble

English

Alternative forms

præamble (archaic)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːˌambəl/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiˌæmbəl/

Noun

preamble (plural preambles)

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.
(computing, networking) A syncword.

Translations

short statement or remark, especially an explanatory introduction to a formal document or statute

Abkhaz: Алагажәа (Alagaẑʷa)
Arabic: دِيبَاجَة (ar) f (dībāja)
Basque: hitzaurre
Bulgarian: встъпление (bg) n (vstǎplenie), преамбюл (bg) m (preambjul)
Catalan: preàmbul m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 序文 (zh) (xùwén), 前言 (zh) (qiányán), 弁言 (zh) (biànyán), 緒言／绪言 (zh) (xùyán), 序言 (zh) (xùyán)
Dutch: preambule (nl)
Finnish: esipuhe (fi)
French: préambule (fr) m
Georgian: პრეამბულა (ṗreambula)
German: Präambel (de)
Greek: προοίμιο (el) n (prooímio), πρόλογος (el) m (prólogos)
Ancient: προοίμιον n (prooímion)
Hindi: प्रवेशिका (hi) f (praveśikā), पीठिका (hi) f (pīṭhikā), मुक़दमा m (muqadmā), मुकदमा (hi) m (mukadmā), दीबाचा (hi) m (dībācā), उद्देशिका f (uddeśikā)
Icelandic: formáli m, inngangur (is) m, inngangsorð n pl, formálsorð c pl
Irish: réamhrá m, brollach m
Italian: preambolo (it) m
Kazakh: преамбула (preambula), кіріспе (kırıspe), алғысөз (alğysöz)
Korean: 서문(序文) (ko) (seomun)
Maori: kupu whakataki
Polish: preambuła (pl) f, arenga f
Portuguese: preâmbulo (pt) m
Russian: преа́мбула (ru) f (preámbula)
Scottish Gaelic: ro-ràdh m
Spanish: preámbulo (es)
Telugu: అవతారిక (te) (avatārika), ప్రవేశిక (pravēśika)
Turkish: giriş (tr), önsöz (tr)
Ukrainian: преа́мбула (uk) f (preámbula)
Vietnamese: biện ngôn (弁言)
Welsh: rhagymadrodd m

computing

Irish: réamhghiotán m

Verb

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

(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?