Etymologically
Log in

preface

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 21:00. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɹɛfəs/, /ˈpɹɛfɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English preface, also spelled prefas,[2] borrowed from Old French preface,[3][4][5][6][2] and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin prefatia,[4][5][7][8] an alteration of praefātiō (“a saying beforehand, introduction”).[7][8][9][3] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from about 1334 for the introductory invocation to God before the central part of the Mass,[10] and Old French had it as prefaice in the 12th century.[3] The Latin noun is formed from praefātus, the past participle of praefor (“to say beforehand”),[11][12][4] from prae- (“before”) and for (“to speak”),[11][4][13] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *bha- (“to speak, tell, say”).[4] The verb, first recorded in 1603, is formed from the noun.[3][9][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The introduction to the central part of the Eucharist, an offering of thanksgiving and praise to God: about 1380, in Chaucer's Second Nun's Tale,[3][5] his only use of the word.[14]

Semantic evolution

The liturgical sense came first, and the literary one, the introduction to a book stating its subject and purpose, follows in 1484 in Caxton's translation of Aesop;[3] Hoad dates the literary sense to the 14th century and the liturgical one to the 15th.[6] From 1532 the word was used of the opening part of a speech; since 1589 it has also been used figuratively of any event or action that comes before another.[3] In Scotland a preface was a short paraphrase of or comment on a psalm before it was sung in church, recorded from before 1709 to 1869,[3][7][15] and the verb had the matching sense "to preach by way of introduction".[3][7] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as something spoken as an introduction to the main design.[16] The verb was first used in 1603 both of introducing a text with a preface and of heralding an event;[3] Barnhart dates it to 1616, and the sense of introducing a book or speech with a preface to 1691.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – introduction to the canon of the Mass, in Chaucer.[3][5]
  • 1484 – introduction to a literary work, in Caxton.[3]
  • 1532 – introductory part of a speech.[3]
  • 1582 – a title or epithet (obsolete by 1640).[3]
  • 1589 – figuratively, an event or action that comes before another.[3]
  • 1603 – verb, to introduce speech or writing with a preface; to herald.[3][7]
  • before 1709 – in Scotland, a comment on a psalm before it is sung.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An author's introduction to a book, usually explaining its subject, purpose and scope; a foreword: The translator explains her choices in the preface.[17][7][3]
  2. The opening remarks of a speech; anything introductory.[7][17][3]
  3. Something that comes before and leads up to an event or action: The skirmish proved a preface to open war.[7][3]
  4. In Christian liturgy, a prayer of thanksgiving that introduces the canon of the Mass or central part of the Eucharist.[7][17][3]
  5. (obsolete) In Scotland, a short paraphrase of or comment on a psalm before it was sung in church.[7][3]

Verb

  1. To introduce a book, speech or remark with a preface or some opening words: He prefaced the report with a short apology.[17][7][3]
  2. To come before something and lead up to it; to herald.[7][17][3]

Word family

  • prefacer

Usage notes

Ayto notes that the word has no connection with face, and that in its origin it is nearly the equivalent of the native formation foreword.[13]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  11. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  12. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  13. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  14. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  16. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  17. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins