preface

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/ˈprefəs/
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An introductory section, remark, or preliminary act, with a specialised church sense for the prayer that leads into the Sanctus.
Practice using this word in conversation

Examples

  • The missal includes a proper Preface for the feast.
  • The seasonal Preface changes with the church calendar.
  • The small protest became the preface to months of reform.
  • Her preface thanks the archives that preserved the documents.
  • That first meeting was a quiet preface to their long partnership.

Similar words

preamble
opening note
preliminary note
eucharistic preface
set up
proper preface
lead-in
forerunner
thanksgiving prayer
open

Meanings

Opening section before a work

noun
literature
neutral
An introductory section placed before the main text of a book, report, or similar work, often explaining why it was written and how to read it.

Usage

Use preface for the front-matter note that frames a work before the main text, especially when it comes from the author or editor.

Examples

  • The preface explains why the author returned to the subject after twenty years.
  • In the preface, the editor describes how the letters were discovered.
  • The revised edition includes a new preface by the translator.
  • Readers who skip the preface may miss the book's historical setting.
  • Her preface thanks the archives that preserved the documents.

Common mistakes

The word is often used for any opening page, even when another front-matter term is more exact.
IncorrectCorrect
The novelist wrote the foreword to explain why she wrote the book. The novelist wrote the preface to explain why she wrote the book.
The preface lists all chapter titles and page numbers. The table of contents lists all chapter titles and page numbers.
A guest scholar wrote the preface to the new edition. A guest scholar wrote the foreword to the new edition.

Similar words

introduction
foreword
prologue
preamble
preliminary note
opening note

Introduce with something first

verb
communication
formal
To begin a speech, answer, chapter, or action with a short remark, explanation, quotation, or other opening material.

Usage

Use preface with with or by when something is deliberately placed before the main point.

Examples

  • She prefaced her remarks with a brief apology.
  • Each chapter is prefaced by a quotation from the diaries.
  • I should preface my answer by saying that the data are incomplete.
  • The curator prefaced the exhibition with a note about provenance.
  • He prefaced the announcement with a warning about the noise.

Common mistakes

The verb often takes the wrong preposition or gets used where ordinary preparation is meant.
IncorrectCorrect
She prefaced her apology by a warning. She prefaced her apology with a warning.
He prefaced to say that the figures were provisional. He prefaced his remarks by saying that the figures were provisional.
I prefaced for the exam all weekend. I prepared for the exam all weekend.

Similar words

introduce
begin
open
precede
lead into
set up

Preliminary lead-in

noun
events
formal
Something that comes first and prepares the way for a larger event, change, or result.

Usage

Use preface in this broader sense for a formal lead-in, not for every ordinary thing that merely happens earlier.

Examples

  • The talks were only a preface to a wider peace agreement.
  • The small protest became the preface to months of reform.
  • That first meeting was a quiet preface to their long partnership.
  • The warning signs formed a grim preface to the crisis.
  • For many voters, the debate was a preface to a larger argument.

Common mistakes

The broader noun can sound too grand when simple timing is all that is meant.
IncorrectCorrect
Breakfast was the preface to lunch. Breakfast came before lunch.
The delay was a preface of the agreement. The delay was a preface to the agreement.
The preface after the vote changed everything. The aftermath of the vote changed everything.

Similar words

prelude
preamble
lead-in
introduction
preliminary
forerunner

Eucharistic prayer before the Sanctus

noun
religion
technical
A formal prayer of thanksgiving in the Eucharist or Mass that leads into the Sanctus.

Usage

Use Preface for this liturgical prayer, often with a capital letter in church contexts.

Examples

  • The priest chanted the Preface before the congregation sang the Sanctus.
  • The missal includes a proper Preface for the feast.
  • During the Preface, the prayer turns toward thanksgiving.
  • The seasonal Preface changes with the church calendar.
  • The choir waited for the end of the Preface before beginning the Sanctus.

Common mistakes

The liturgical sense is easy to confuse with the ordinary front-matter sense.
IncorrectCorrect
The Preface is printed after the Sanctus in the order of Mass. The Preface leads into the Sanctus in the order of Mass.
The priest wrote a preface for the altar. The priest prayed the Preface at the altar.
Every book preface is part of the Mass. Only the liturgical Preface belongs to the Mass.

Similar words

proper preface
eucharistic preface
thanksgiving prayer

Usage

Use preface for material that deliberately comes before and frames something else, and reserve the liturgical sense for church contexts.

Common mistakes

Using preface for a guest foreword or a table of contents blurs distinct parts of a book.

Etymology

From late Middle English, through Old French and Medieval Latin forms of Latin praefatio, meaning words spoken beforehand, from prae meaning before and fari meaning speak.

FAQ

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