Proheme

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A short introductory section placed at the beginning of a speech, poem, or book to prepare the reader or listener for what follows
2. An opening statement or preliminary piece that introduces a larger work and sets out its purpose or theme
3. The preface or prelude that comes before the main body of a literary or musical composition, offering an introduction to it

Etymology: "Proheme" is an obsolete spelling of "proem," and the chain of borrowings behind it runs back to ancient Greek. The Greek "prooimion" was built from "pro," meaning "before," and "oimē," a song or ode, so the literal sense is something sung or said before the main piece. Greek used the word for the preliminary part of a poem or speech, and it passed into Latin as "prooemium" with the same meaning. From Latin it reached Old French as "proheme," and Middle English later took that form directly, so English speakers used "proheme" for the opening section of a book, speech or treatise. The spelling "proem" is the later, shortened form that eventually displaced it.

Synonyms: preface, prologue, introduction, foreword, preamble

Antonyms: epilogue, afterword, conclusion