
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin praefātiō, praefātiōn-, from praefātus, past participle of praefārī, to say before : prae-, pre- + fārī, to speak.]
prefacer pref'ac·er n.
Definition: introduction
Antonyms: appendix, conclusion, ending, epilogue, finish
v
Definition: introduce
Antonyms: conclude, end, finish

A preface (
/ˈprɛfɨs/ PREF-iss; adjectival form: "prefatory") is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes with acknowledgements of those who assisted in the literary work.
A preface generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or how the idea for the book was developed; this is often followed by thanks and acknowledgments to people who were helpful to the author during the time of writing.
A preface is usually signed (and the date and place of writing often follow the typeset signature); a foreword by another person is always signed. Information essential to the main text is generally placed in a set of explanatory notes, or perhaps in an "Introduction" that may be paginated with Arabic numerals, rather than in the preface. The term preface can also mean any preliminary or introductory statement. It is sometimes abbreviated pref.
Similarly, a prologue is typically an introduction to a novel, fitting in with the genre and storyline of the main text, rather than a section in the author's voice. The term proem indicates an introductory discourse or preamble, either an introduction or preface.
Preface comes from the Latin, meaning either "spoken before" (prae + fatia) or "made before" (prae + factum). While the former source of the word could have preface meaning the same as prologue, the latter strongly implies an introduction written before the body of the book. With this meaning of stated intention, British publishing up to at least the middle of the twentieth century distinguished between preface and introduction.
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - forord, indledning
v. tr. - skrive et forord, indlede
Nederlands (Dutch)
voorwoord, inleiding, voorgebed, inleiden, iets vooraf zeggen, vooraf gaan aan
Français (French)
n. - préface, préambule
v. tr. - préfacer
Deutsch (German)
n. - Vorwort, Vorrede, Einleitung
v. - einleiten
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εισαγωγή, πρόλογος, προοίμιο
v. - προλογίζω
Italiano (Italian)
scrivere una prefazione a, premettere a, far precedere da, prefazione, proemio, prefazio
Português (Portuguese)
n. - prefácio (m)
v. - prefaciar
Русский (Russian)
делать вступление, вступление, предисловие
Español (Spanish)
n. - prefacio, prólogo
v. tr. - introducir, prologar
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förord, företal, upprinnelse
v. - inleda, föregå, leda till
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
序文, 前言, 绪言, 为...加序言, 作为...的开端
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 序文, 前言, 緒言
v. tr. - 為...加序言, 作為...的開端
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 서문, 머리말
v. tr. - ~에허두를 놓다, ~에 서문을 쓰다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 序文, 前置き, 序論, 発端
v. - 端緒となる, 前に置く, 序文を書く, 序文を付ける
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) مقدمه, فاتحه, تصدير (فعل) يبدي ملاحظات, يستهل
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - הקדמה, מבוא
v. tr. - כתב מבוא, פתח (אירוע), הוביל ל- (אירוע לאירוע)
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