(v. t.) An introductory performance, preceding and preparing for the principal matter; a preliminary part, movement, strain, etc.; especially (Mus.), a strain introducing the theme or chief subject; a movement introductory to a fugue, yet independent; -- with recent composers often synonymous with overture.
(v. i.) To play an introduction or prelude; to give a prefatory performance; to serve as prelude.
(v. t.) To introduce with a previous performance; to play or perform a prelude to; as, to prelude a concert with a lively air.
(v. t.) To serve as prelude to; to precede as introductory.
Example Sentences:
(1) If overloaded, these areas are subject to "cervical cratering," a common prelude to implant failure.
(2) The separate anxiety measures utilized were total number of words, preludes to stories, outcomes to stories, combined preludes and outcomes, perceptual repression, and overall psychopathology.
(3) Sometimes it's because of a personal connection - the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues my grandfather loved the most, which we listened to together, or the Bruckner symphony I associate with our family home in the highlands of Scotland - but the welling-up can also come completely out of the blue.
(4) We have studied the age-dependence of the effects of kainate (KA) on the chick retina as a prelude to the accompanying paper on the effects of target-removal on the isthmo-optic nucleus.
(5) As a prelude to these goals, sodium-23 imaging experiments operating at 29.8 MHz (2.7 teslas) were performed on the bovine eye and lens.
(6) • Russia called on Syria to turn control of its chemical weapons arsenal over to international authorities as prelude to the arsenal's destruction.
(7) A concept so noble in the drawing rooms of Manhattan has degenerated into a sickening prelude to more bloodshed.
(8) Discussion of the patient's condition, technicalities, and judicial consequences with the next of kin, attendants, a pastor, and another physician is a necessary prelude.
(9) We propose that stereotaxic neurosurgery can provide safe and accurate diagnosis, which is a prelude to planning comprehensive management.
(10) As a prelude to neurobehavioral toxicologic studies in neonatal minipigs, normal maturational changes in the visual evoked response (VER) were determined in 6 Hormel-bred minipigs.
(11) As a prelude to future studies focusing on the mechanism of drug-induced embryotoxicity, we have used established biochemical and immunologic methods to identify and quantify topoisomerase II in rat embryos.
(12) He'll certainly be hoping that Diaries Volume One: Prelude to Power 1994-1997 does better than his second novel, Maya.
(13) For each Prelude, the tonic (first note) and the mode (major or minor) of the scale produced were compared to the tonic and mode designated by Bach.
(14) This will be a very hot week that should be seen as a prelude to a very hot winter,” she said.
(15) Implied in this hypothesis is the idea that crest-derived cells, as a prelude to their participation in ganglion formation, acquire a neurally related laminin receptor, which they do not express at pre-enteric stages of migration.
(16) The extracellular coat, or zona pellucida, of mammalian eggs contains species-specific receptors to which sperm bind as a prelude to fertilization.
(17) It is speculated that other fish may have evolved some degree of strength to overcome inertia and drag during aquatic locomotion, and this evolution may have been a prelude to terrestrial locomotion.
(18) A huge Russian convoy allegedly carrying humanitarian aid was on its way to war-torn eastern Ukraine on Tuesday night, in a operation which the west fears may be a prelude to a Russian invasion but which Moscow insists is designed to relieve the suffering of besieged residents trapped by conflict.
(19) As a prelude to an awareness course in mental handicap an exploration was made of the relevant cultural knowledge of pupils in the second year of a comprehensive school.
(20) In the prelude to the Good Friday agreement, the negotiators made ample use of what David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader, liked to call “constructive ambiguity”.
Prolusion
Definition:
(n.) A trial before the principal performance; a prelude; hence, an introductory essay or exercise.