prelude

The story

1. Latin · derived frompraelūdere
2. Medieval Latin · derived frompreludium
3. Middle French · derived fromprélude“singing to test a musical instrument”
4. English todayprelude

From Middle French prélude (“singing to test a musical instrument”), from Medieval Latin preludium, from Latin praelūdere.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1650s A short, free-form piece of music, originally one serving as an introduction to a longer and more complex piece; later, starting with the Romantic period, generally a stand-alone piece.