prefatory

American  

[pref-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈprɛf əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

Often prefatorial

adjective

1. of, relating to, or of the nature of a preface.

   prefatory explanations.

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prefatory British  

/ ˌprɛfəˈtɔːrɪəl, ˈprɛfətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, involving, or serving as a preface; introductory

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Other Word Forms

• prefatorily adverb

Etymology

Origin of prefatory

1665–75; < Latin praefāt ( iō ) preface + -ory ¹

Example Sentences

But biologists studying everything from yeast to snakes to humans have recently unearthed a plethora of so-called noncanonical ORFs, which lack those prefatory snippets and are shorter than average.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 24, 2024

The Amendment's prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause.

From Salon • Oct. 25, 2020

A prefatory note: I confess that I didn’t realize that I would have to do some work to prepare these turkeys.

From Slate • Nov. 21, 2018

In 1967, Moore published her “Complete Poems” with the prefatory admonishment that “omissions are not accidents.”

From The New Yorker • Apr. 13, 2016

The compass allows you to navigate out of sight of land and, naturally, Edward Wright’s prefatory letter to On the Magnet mentions the circumnavigations of the Earth by English sailors.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton