preamble

• præamble (archaic)

From Middle English preamble, from Old French preambule (French préambule), from Medieval Latin praeambulum, from praeambulō (“I walk before”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːˌambəl/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiˌæmbəl/

preamble (plural preambles)

1. A short preliminary statement or remark, especially an explanatory introduction to a formal document or statute.

   Synonyms: foreword, preface, prologue; see also Thesaurus:foreword

   Antonyms: afterword, conclusion, epilogue, last word, postamble; see also Thesaurus:afterword

   • 2023 November 1, Robert Drysdale, “Leven is nearly back on track...”, in RAIL, number 995, page 58:

     The consultation preamble explains: "The planned timetable will be introduced in 2025 once we have completed the necessary steps required to ensure that we have enough resources to do so.

2. (computing, networking) A syncword.

preamble (third-person singular simple present preambles, present participle preambling, simple past and past participle preambled)

1. (intransitive) To speak or write a preamble; to provide a preliminary statement or set of remarks.
   • 1867, Simeon Thayer, Edwin Martin Stone, The Invasion of Canada in 1775: Including the Journal of Captain Simeon Chaper, pages 312–313:

     But these things being beside my main design, I will desist from preambling and come to the materials I have collected towards a history of the Baptists in this province.

   • 1982, Frank Davey, Pomestaysyun, page 20:

     Once I was young and had so much more orientation and could talk with nervous intelligence about everything and with clarity and without as much literary preambling as this; in other words this is the story of an unself-confident man, at the same time of an egomaniac.

   • 2016, Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow, →ISBN, page 473:

     So, what say we skip the preambling. Is it women? Money? Writer's block?

• preamble on Wikipedia.Wikipedia