Exordium

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛɡˈzɔːdɪəm/

Origin

From Latin exōrdium ("beginning, commencement"), from exōrdior ("I begin, commence"), from ex ("out of, from") + ōrdior ("I begin").

Full definition of exordium

Noun

1. A beginning
2. The introduction to a paper or discourse.
• 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.17:Cicero thinks, in discourses of philosophy, the exordium to be the hardest part: if it be so, I wisely lay hold on the conclusion.
• 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:This is a feeble article of faith to begin with, but it helps to push my pen through this exordium and what now follows.