prelúdio

Forms

prelúdio m (plural prelúdios)^[1]

Etymology

Houaiss, Cunha, Nascentes, Aurélio and Priberam take it from French: it is borrowed from French prélude.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Wiktionary instead treats it as a learned borrowing from Latin under the influence of the French word, and the DLP and Michaelis give only the Latin source.^[1][7][8] Porto Editora combines the two views: Latin through French.^[9]

The French word is recorded from 1530, a learned borrowing of Late Latin praelūdium (“prelude”), which comes from praelūdō (“to play beforehand, rehearse”).^[10][3][1] The verb is formed from prae- (“before”) and lūdō (“to play”).^[10][1] In classical Latin it meant to compose a prelude to a longer or weightier work, or to make a trial attempt.^[11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to the 16th century, and Cunha agrees on the century.^[2][3] The first definition in a dictionary is Feijó's of 1734, who equates it with ensayo “trial, rehearsal”.^[13]

Semantic evolution

In French the word first named the notes sung or played to try out the voice or an instrument (1530); the figurative sense “what announces and precedes something” followed in 1535, “short piece of music” in 1690 and “instrumental or orchestral introduction to a work” in 1765.^[2][10] In Portuguese Houaiss dates the sense of trying the voice or an instrument to 1789.^[2] The original Caldas Aulete gives the figurative senses first: a preliminary exercise, the first step towards an outcome, a prologue or preface, and a presage of what is to come.^[14] The modern dictionaries add the musical senses of an introductory piece and of a free composition for the piano.^[2][5] Michaelis gives poslúdio as its opposite.^[8]

Timeline

• 16th century – first record, according to Houaiss and Cunha.^[2][3]
• 1734 – Feijó defines it as ensayo.^[13]
• 1789 – first date of the sense “what is sung or played to try the voice or an instrument”, and first record of the verb preludiar in Morais's dictionary.^[2][15]
• 1822 – the word, spelt preludio, in a document of a provisional civil government junta.^[16]

Meanings

Noun

1. A preliminary act or exercise; the first step towards something: As conversas ainda estão nos prelúdios.^[2][5][6]
2. The first stage of something that leads to a given outcome.^[2][14]
3. An introductory text or speech; a prologue, preface, preâmbulo.^[2][9]
4. A sign of what is to come; a presage, prenúncio: O frio da manhã foi o prelúdio do inverno.^[2][5][7]
5. (music) What is sung or played to try out the voice or an instrument before a performance.^[2][6][7]
6. (music) A piece that introduces a larger work, an opera, a fugue or a suite, or that is played before a ceremony.^[2][5][9]
7. (music) A free composition for the piano, independent of any larger work.^[2][8][1]

Word family

• preludiar

Related words

• poslúdio
• French prélude
• Latin praelūdium

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. prelúdio
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. prelúdio
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. prelúdio
5. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. prelúdio
6. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. prelúdio
7. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. prelúdio
8. ^ a b c Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. prelúdio
9. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7434
10. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. prélude
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ a b Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. prelúdio
14. ^ a b Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. prelúdio
15. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. preludiar
16. ^ NEHiLP – Núcleo de Apoio à Pesquisa em Etimologia e História da Língua Portuguesa, Universidade de São Paulo, DELPo: Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (online database), p. s.v. prelúdio