praeludium

Forms

praelūdium n (genitive praelūdiī or praelūdī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Wiktionary forms it from Latin praelūdō (“to play beforehand”) + -ium,^[1] and Etymonline also derives it from that verb.^[2] The DMLBS analyses it as prae- (“before”) with lūdus (“game, play”) and the suffix -ium.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Osbern of Gloucester explains it in his Derivationes as a small game played before a bigger one.^[3] The first dated example the DMLBS gives is from an Oxford formulary of 1304, which speaks of the praeludia of a new examination or approval.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In British Medieval Latin it meant a performance or game that served as a rehearsal for or introduction to a more important one: Gerald of Wales and others call tournaments the preludes of war, and pacis praeludia was said of a truce.^[3] It was also the prelude to a play or a literary work, and in a fable of Walter the Englishman a bird, pleased by the preludes of a flattering tongue, drops its cheese as it sings.^[3] In Polish Medieval Latin it meant play, jesting or a preliminary amusement,^[4] and Ecclesiastical Latin dictionaries gloss it as prelude, eve or vigil.^[5]

French prélude, Italian preludio and Catalan preludi continue it,^[1] and English prelude (1560s) came through French.^[2] English and Swedish also have the Latin form preludium.^[1]

Timeline

• 1304 – An Oxford formulary speaks of the praeludia of an examination.^[3]
• 1560s – English takes prelude from French prélude.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A preliminary game or performance, a rehearsal or introduction to a more important one; a prelude to war or peace.^[3][4]
2. A prologue, a prelude to a play, a literary work or a speech.^[1][3][6]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An eve, a vigil.^[5]

Related words

• lūdus
• English prelude

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de