prologue en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈpɹoʊloʊɡ/ (obsolete)
- /ˈpɹəʊlɒɡ/ (UK)
- /ˈpɹoʊlɔɡ/ (US)
- /ˈpɹoʊlɑɡ/ (US)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English prologue, prologe, from Old French prologue, from Latin prologus, from Ancient Greek πρόλογος (prólogos). Equivalent to pro- + -logue.
Meanings
-
(rhetoric) 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. […]”
1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Lisson Grove Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
-
One who delivers a prologue.
And hither am I come, / A Prologue arm’d, but not in confidence / Of Authors pen, or Actors voyce;
c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida. The Prologue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act PROLOGUE, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:
- A component of a computer program that prepares the computer to execute a routine.
- An individual time trial before a stage race, used to determine which rider wears the leader's jersey on the first stage.
- (qualifier:Eastern Orthodoxy) A liturgical book containing daily readings, including hagiography.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| prolog | US, alternative | lexicographic | |
| prologues | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
conclusion · epilogue (antonym(s) of “speech or section”) · epilog (antonym(s) of “speech or section”) · endsay · postamble · epilogue · epilogue · endspeech · afterword
Deriveds
prologuize · prologuelike · prologetic · prologuise
Synonyms
forespeech · foretale · forespeech · foreword · foretalk
Translations (38)
te పూర్వరంగము (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · uk проло́г (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · de Prolog (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · hu előszó (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · hy նախաբան (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · cs prolog (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · fi prologi (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · sh пре̏дгово̄р (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · grc πρόλογος (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · bg пролог (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · he פרולוג (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · pl prolog (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · sh pròlog (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · cmn 序幕 (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · ca pròleg (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · bn প্রাক্ কথন (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · eo prologo (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · la praefātiō (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · hy նախաբանություն (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · sh prȅdgovōr (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · pt prólogo (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · ja 序幕 (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · ja プロローグ (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · fr prologue (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · ja 序章 (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · hu bevezető (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · hu prológus (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · yi פּראָלאָג (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · nl proloog (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · gd ro-ràdh (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · sv prolog (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · nb prolog (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · ru предисло́вие (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · es prólogo (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · hi प्रस्तावना (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · ru проло́г (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · ug مۇقەددىمە (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel) · sh про̀лог (speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel)