prolusion

English

Etymology

Latin prolusio, from proludere (“to prelude”).

Noun

prolusion (plural prolusions)

1. A trial before the principal performance; a prelude.
   • 1854, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], →OCLC:

     Domestic prolusions.

2. An introductory essay.
   • 1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:

     Her presence was in some measure a restraint on the worthy divine, whose prolusion lasted the longer […]

Derived terms

• prolusory