From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpreludeprel‧ude /ˈpreljuːd/ noun [countable] 1 → a prelude to something2 APMa short piece of music, especially one played at the beginning of a longer musical piece or before a church ceremony Chopin’s Preludes an organ prelude
Examples from the Corpus
prelude• This identification was emphasized in 1483 when Gloucester took the precaution of arresting lord Stanley as a prelude to his usurpation.• Computer simulations are only mechanical extensions of this verbal power, which manipulates signs and symbols as a prelude to manipulating things.• Could this be a prelude to a trade war even more destructive of world prosperity than a military war?• The search for the seat of divinity in man and nature is only a prelude to the aspiration for transcendence.• This outing was a prelude to many more.• The squall was a prelude to a fully-fledged gale, heralded well in advance by warnings from the meteorologists.• Also, it is considered by many as an anachronism, mere prelude to a party on the river for Hooray Henrys.Origin prelude (1500-1600) French prélude, from Medieval Latin praeludium, from Latin praeludere “to play before” 