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)

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

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)

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

• preamble on Wikipedia.Wikipedia