Prologue
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel.
"“H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what […] will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically enough. It was last Saturday […] that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth. […]”"
- 2 an introduction to a play wordnet
- 3 One who delivers a prologue.
"And hither am I come, / A Prologue arm’d, but not in confidence / Of Authors pen, or Actors voyce;"
- 4 A component of a computer program that prepares the computer to execute a routine.
- 5 An individual time trial before a stage race, used to determine which rider wears the leader's jersey on the first stage.
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- 6 A liturgical book containing daily readings, including hagiography.
- 1 To introduce with a formal preface, or prologue.
"[…]harbindgers preceading ſtill the fates and prologue to the Omen comming on[…]"
Example
More examples"Victor's editor insisted that he cut out the prologue from his novel draft."
Etymology
From Middle English prologue, prologe, from Old French prologue, from Latin prologus, from Ancient Greek πρόλογος (prólogos). Equivalent to pro- + -logue.
Related phrases
More for "prologue"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.