Introduccioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The bringing forward or making known of a person, practice or thing for the first time ; a preface or preliminary section that opens a book or treatise
2. Presenting someone or something to others for the first time ; an opening passage or prologue placed at the start of a written work
3. The act of bringing a practice or person into notice or use ; the prefatory part of a book that prepares the reader for what follows

Etymology: Its root is a physical image. Latin "introducere" joined "intro", meaning inward, with "ducere", to lead, so an introduction was literally a leading-in, like guiding a guest through a door. Late Latin "introductio" carried that sense into writing, where an opening section led the reader into the body of a text. This form is Middle English, borrowed from Old French "introduction". Medieval English used it mainly for a book's preface or opening part, and that sense of guiding someone into a subject is still visible in it. The meaning of a first public presentation, of a person, product or performance, grew out of the older social practice of being formally brought before someone. The modern sense is a figurative extension of that act of leading someone in.

Synonyms: preface, prologue, foreword, preamble, opening

Antonyms: conclusion, epilogue, ending