Intro

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɪntɹoʊ/

Definitions

1. A section that serves as a gateway to subsequent information by presenting essential concepts and outlining the topics to come
2. The beginning part of a speech or written work that sets the stage for what follows
3. An initial segment in a presentation or document that introduces main themes and prepares the audience

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "intro" is that the short form was a deliberate act of trimming, and its most vivid life happened in an unexpected corner of computing. The word is a clipping of "introduction", which came from Latin "intrōductiō", a lead-in or opening. Clipping drops the back of a longer word, so "introduction" lost its ending and kept the front, a habit English speakers have applied to many words. The "intro" you find in a report or a textbook shares that ancestry, but the sense of a short opening section is only part of its story. In the demoscene, the subculture of programmers who made animated and music displays, an "intro" was a short screen of graphics and music that a cracking group put at the start of a pirated game. Those cracking groups used the intros to show off their skills and to sign their names, so the opening screen became a showcase in its own right.

Synonyms: introduction, foreword