prelude en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈpɹiːl(j)uːd/ (Canada, US)
- /ˈpɹɛl(j)uːd/ (Canada, US)
- /ˈpɹɛlɪu̯d/ (Wales)
- /ˈpɹiːluːd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈpɹɛljuːd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (US) audio
- /ˈpɹeɪl(j)uːd/ (Canada, US)
Etymology
From Middle French prélude (“singing to test a musical instrument”), from Medieval Latin preludium, from Latin praelūdere.
Meanings
-
An introductory or preliminary performance or event.
Adam Schiff, a Democratic senator from California, called it a “very dangerous escalation and a prelude to potential conflict”.
2025 December 11, Joseph Gedeon, quoting Adam Schiff, “US lawmakers condemn seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker: ‘Trump is sleepwalking us into a war’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- A short, free-form piece of music, originally one serving as an introduction to a longer and more complex piece; later, starting with the Romantic period, generally a stand-alone piece.
-
A standard module or library of subroutines and functions to be imported, generally by default, into a program.
In the same way that Rust has a general prelude that brings certain types and functions into scope automatically, the std::io module has its own prelude of common types and functions you'll need when working with I/O.
2018, Steve Klabnik, Carol Nichols, The Rust Programming Language, No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 232:
-
(figuratively) A forerunner to anything.
On the other hand, the nationalitarian phenomenon is one in which the struggle against the imperialist powers of occupation has as its object, beyond the clearing of the national territory, the independence and sovereignty of the national State, uprooting in depth the positions of the ex-colonial power— the reconquest of the power of decision in all domains of national life, the prelude to that reconquest of identity which is at the heart of the renaissance undertaken on the basis of fundamental national demands, and ceaselessly contested, by every means available, on every level, and notably on the internal level'.
1981, Anouar Abdel-Malek, Social Dialectics: Nation and Revolution, page 13:Swimmings of the head and intestinal pains seemed the prelude of dissolution.
1869, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers's Miscellany of Instructive & Entertaining Tracts, page 2:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| prælude | alternative | lexicographic | |
| preludes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
preluder · preludial · preludize
Synonyms
intrada · overture · forestory · preface
Translations (50)
uk прелю́дія (short piece of music) · cmn 序幕 (introductory event) · hu előjáték (short piece of music) · be прэлю́дыя (short piece of music) · grc προοίμιον (introductory event) · tr prelüd (short piece of music) · ro preludiu (short piece of music) · nn preludium (short piece of music) · it preludio (short piece of music) · vi khúc dạo dầu (short piece of music) · cs předehra (short piece of music) · eo preludo (short piece of music) · fi preludi (short piece of music) · ca preludi (short piece of music) · de Vorspiel (short piece of music) · cmn 前奏曲 (short piece of music) · it ouverture (short piece of music) · es antesala (introductory event) · ca preludi (introductory event) · vi dạo đầu (short piece of music) · el πρελούδιο (short piece of music) · ru прелю́дия (short piece of music) · ru прелю́дия (introductory event) · pl preludium (short piece of music) · ja プレリュード (short piece of music) · uk прелю́дія (introductory event) · de Präludium (short piece of music) · bg въведение (introductory event) · fi alkusoitto (short piece of music) · pt prelúdio (introductory event) · hu prelúdium (short piece of music) · id pendahuluan (introductory event) · la praelūsiō (introductory event) · cmn 过门 (short piece of music) · ug مۇقەددىمە (introductory event) · fr prélude (introductory event) · pdt Väaspell (short piece of music) · ru вступле́ние (introductory event) · pl preludium (introductory event) · bg увод (introductory event) · it preludio (introductory event) · hu prelűd (short piece of music) · nb preludium (short piece of music) · la praelūdium (short piece of music) · tr giriş (introductory event) · cmn 前奏 (short piece of music) · es preludio (introductory event) · bg прелюдия (short piece of music) · pt prelúdio (short piece of music) · es preludio (short piece of music)