Prologue

Alternative forms

• prolog

Origin

From Old French, from Latin prologus, from Ancient Greek πρόλογος

Full definition of prologue

Noun

1. A speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel.
• 1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 2, “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. One who delivers a prologue.
• 1602, William Shakespeare, :And hither am I come,
  A Prologue armed, but not in confidence
  Of author's pen or actor's voice,
3. (computing) A component of a computer program that prepares the computer to execute a routine.

Antonyms

• (speech or section) epilogue

Derived terms

• prologise
  prologize
  prologuise
  prologuize

Verb

1. To introduce with a formal preface, or prologue.