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7 wordies list
preface |
(n): a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
(n): the first section of a communication
(v): furnish with a preface or introduction
(v): express in words
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We all know that pre- means 'before'… so a preface must be something that is 'before the face'. But that doesn't seem right, and a glance in the nearest etymological dictionary meakes it clear that the face part of the word is misleading. 'Preface' comes from an early French form of Latin præfatio, a 'saying beforehand'. A more accurate form in English of the Latin word would therefore have been prefation, the -fation deriving ultimately from the Latin verb fari, fatus 'speak, say'. That same Latin verb leads to other English words: when we talk about what fate has in store for us, for example, we mean 'what has been "spoken" by the gods'. — Leslie Dunkling