Meanings
plural prologues · alternative US prolog
- rhetoricliteratureA speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel.
1 more example
“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. […]”
1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Lisson Grove Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020Synonyms: forespeech, forespeech, foretale, foretalk, foreword · Antonyms: epilogue, afterword, conclusion, endsay, endspeech, epilogue, postamble
- One who delivers a prologue.
And hither am I come, / A Prologue arm’d, but not in confidence / Of Authors pen, or Actors voyce;
c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida. The Prologue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act PROLOGUE, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)] - computingA component of a computer program that prepares the computer to execute a routine.
- cyclingAn individual time trial before a stage race, used to determine which rider wears the leader's jersey on the first stage.
- Eastern OrthodoxyA liturgical book containing daily readings, including hagiography.
present singular third person prologues · participle present prologuing · participle past prologued · past prologued · alternative US prolog
- rhetoricliteratureTo introduce with a formal preface, or prologue.
[…]harbindgers preceading ſtill the fates and prologue to the Omen comming on[…]
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel.
antonym(s) of “speech or section”
Origin
- Ancient Greekπρόλογος
- Latinprologus
- Old Frenchprologue
- Middle Englishprologue
- Englishprologue
From Middle English prologue, prologe, from Old French prologue, from Latin prologus, from Ancient Greek πρόλογος (prólogos). Equivalent to pro- + -logue.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πρόλογος
- πρόλογος (prólogos)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Bengali প্রাক্ কথন
- প্রাক্ কথন (prāk kathana)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Bulgarian пролог
- пролог (prolog)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Catalan pròleg
- pròlegspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Chinese Mandarin 序幕
- 序幕 (xùmù)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Czech prolog
- prologspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Dutch proloog
- proloogspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Esperanto prologo
- prologospeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Finnish prologi
- prologispeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
French prologue
- prologuespeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
German Prolog
- Prologspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Hebrew פרולוג
- פרולוגspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Hindi प्रस्तावना
- प्रस्तावना (prastāvnā)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Hungarian prológus, bevezető
- prológusspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
- bevezetőspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
- előszóspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Japanese プロローグ, 序幕
- プロローグ (purorōgu)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
- 序幕 (jomaku)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
- 序章 (joshō)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Latin praefātiō
- praefātiōspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Norwegian Bokmål prolog
- prologspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Polish prolog
- prologspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Portuguese prólogo
- prólogospeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Russian проло́г, предисло́вие
- проло́г (prológ)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
- предисло́вие (predislóvije)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Scottish Gaelic ro-ràdh
- ro-ràdhspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Spanish prólogo
- prólogospeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Swedish prolog
- prologspeech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Ukrainian проло́г
- проло́г (prolóh)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Yiddish פּראָלאָג
- פּראָלאָג (prolog)speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel
Cite this entry
prologue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prologue
“prologue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prologue. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prologue,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prologue.
Source: prologue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.