preamble

[pree-am-buhl, pree-am-]

noun

1. an introductory statement; preface; introduction.

   Synonyms: prelude, prologue, foreword, beginning, opening
   Antonyms: closing, afterword, conclusion, appendix, epilogue

2. the introductory part of a statute, deed, or the like, stating the reasons and intent of what follows.

3. a preliminary or introductory fact or circumstance.

   His childhood in the slums was a preamble to a life of crime.

4. (initial capital letter),  the introductory statement of the U.S. Constitution, setting forth the general principles of American government and beginning with the words, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union. …”

preamble

/ priːˈæmbəl /

noun

1. a preliminary or introductory statement, esp attached to a statute or constitution setting forth its purpose

2. a preliminary or introductory conference, event, fact, etc

Other Word Forms

• preambled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of preamble¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English preambel, preambile, from Middle French preambule, préamble from Medieval Latin praeambulum, noun use of neuter of Late Latin praeambulus “walking in front”; pre-, amble

Word History and Origins

Origin of preamble¹

C14: from Old French préambule, from Late Latin praeambulum walking before, from Latin prae- before + ambulāre to walk

Example Sentences

Of course there has been lots of stuff going on in the preamble.

From BBC

A decisive third Test is always going to have an incredible preamble but few of those occasions could hold a light to the final game of the 1989 tour.

From BBC

In a lengthy preamble, the order delineated that early history through the shuttering of veterans’ housing in the 1970s to improper leases of veterans’ land that led to the two lawsuits.

From Los Angeles Times

But that’s one episode — one and a half, if we treat “Plaything” as the preamble to a robust and morally knotty drama about humanity’s next stage of evolution — out of half a dozen.

From Salon

Hello darkness my old friend would be a more fitting preamble than Flower of Scotland.

From BBC

Related Words

• preface