prolegomenon
/ˌprəʊlɪˈɡɒmɪnən
/noun (plural prolegomena)
A critical or discursive introduction to a book: a prolegomenon to the second part the prolegomena to the enquiry...
- After some elaborate prolegomena, the book follows a calendrical sequence, each poem dated and grouped by month so that the events of a hundred years follow a seasonal ebb and flow, not chronology.
- We have been attending to ‘exists’ and ‘is’ not for their own sake but purely as a prolegomenon to an ontological question, namely, that of existence.
- This first chapter is a necessary prolegomenon, but for the casual reader or one unfamiliar with the issues, it would prove hard going.
Derivatives
prolegomenary
prolegomenous
Origin
Mid 17th century: via Latin from Greek, passive present participle (neuter) of prolegein 'say beforehand', from pro 'before' + legein 'say'.