preface C2+ Topic:Media & Publishing US /ˈprɛfəs/ UK /ˈprɛfəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun an introduction to a book; to introduce or precede with remarks The author thanked her editor in the preface. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an introduction to a book;... introductionforewordprologuepreamblepreludeintroduceprecede ↔ Opposites epilogueafterwordconclusion Word family Derived forms prefatoryprefacer Related forms prefatory Etymology AI details From Old French preface, from Latin praefatio ('a saying beforehand'), from praefari ('to say beforehand'), from prae- ('before') + fari ('to speak'). praefatio Latin fari Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Media & Publishing External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # preface **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈprɛfəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈprɛfəs/ ## Meanings 1. an introduction to a book; to introduce or precede with remarks ## Examples - The author thanked her editor in the preface. ## Synonyms - introduction - foreword - prologue - preamble - prelude - introduce - precede ## Antonyms - epilogue - afterword - conclusion ## Derived Forms - prefatory - prefacer ## Related Forms - prefatory ## Roots and Affixes - Root: praefatio - Root: fari ## Etymology From Old French preface, from Latin praefatio ('a saying beforehand'), from praefari ('to say beforehand'), from prae- ('before') + fari ('to speak'). ## AI Etymology Preface is from Old French preface, from Latin praefatio ('a saying beforehand'), from praefari ('to say beforehand'), from prae- ('before') + fari ('to speak'). Important recorded forms include praefatio (Latin) and fari (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers an introduction to a book; to introduce or precede with remarks. The wider family includes derived forms such as prefatory and prefacer and related words such as prefatory. ## Topics - Media & Publishing markdown