n. The act of introducing, or leading or ushering in; the act of bringing in: as, the introduction of manufactures into a country.n. The act of inserting: as, the introduction of a probe into a wound.n. The act of making acquainted; the formal presentation of persons to one another, with mention of their names, etc.: as, an introduction in person or by letter.n. The act of bringing into notice, use, or practice: as, the introduction of a new fashion or invention.n. Something that leads to or opens the way for the understanding of something else; specifically, a preliminary explanation or statement; the part of a book or discourse which precedes the main work, and in which the author or speaker gives some general account of his design and subject; an elaborate preface, or a preliminary discourse.n. A more or less elementary treatise on any branch of study; a treatise leading the way to more elaborate works on the same subject: as, an introduction to botany.n. In music, a preparatory phrase or movement at the beginning of a work, or of a part of a work, designed to attract the hearer's attention or to foreshadow the subsequent themes or development.n. of each bookn. of the canon or collection of the several books into the one bookn. of the text, including a comparison of the various texts, andn. of the translations and versions. Synonyms Exordium, Introduction, Preface, Prelude, Preamble, Prologue. Exordium is the old or classic technical word in rhetoric for the beginning of an oration, up to the second division, which may be “narration,” “partition,” “proposition,” or the like. Introduction is a more general word, in this connection applying to spoken or written discourse, and covering whatever is preliminary to the subject; in a book it may be the opening chapter. As distinguished from the preface, the introduction is supposed to be an essential part of the discussion or treatment of the theme, and written at the outset of composition. A preface is supposed to be the last words of the author in connection with his subject, and is generally explanatory or conciliatory, having the style of more direct address to the reader. A prelude is generally an introductory piece of music (see the definition of overture); a preamble, of a resolution, an ordinance, or a law: as, the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. A prologue is a conciliatory spoken preface to a play. All these words have some freedom of figurative use.
