prelude has definitions from the fields of music,fine art
1
[ noun ] something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows

Examples

"training is a necessary preliminary to employment" "drinks were the overture to dinner"

Used in print

(S. J. Perelman, The Rising Gorge. New York:...)

All this , though , is simply a prelude , a curtain-raiser , for what ensues , and I doubt whether any Occidental could accurately forecast it .

Related terms

origin

2
[ verb ] serve as a prelude to

Related terms

serve preliminary

3
[ verb ] (music) play as a prelude, of musical pieces

Related terms

play music

4
[ noun ] (music,fine art) music that precedes a fugue or introduces an act in an opera

Related terms

music chorale_prelude

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