English
prologue
Prologue comes from Latin prologus ‘a preface to a play’, from Ancient Greek λόγος ‘speech’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect (words)’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to collect (words)’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγος‘speech’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπρόλογοςprólogos‘the prologue of a play’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprologus‘a preface to a play’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400prologue
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prologue
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602prologue
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to collect (words)’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγος‘speech’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπρόλογοςprólogos‘the prologue of a play’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprologus‘a preface to a play’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400prologue
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prologue
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602prologue
Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet: “[…]harbindgers preceading ſtill the fates and prologue to the…”
Formed from pro- + -logue
Proto-Indo-European *pér ‘through’
Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’
Proto-Italic *prō ‘in front of, before’
Latin prō ‘in favor of, on behalf of’
English pro-
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect (words)’
election, collection, technology, lesson, select, elite, eligible, collect, elect, elegant, legion, coil, negligence, negligible, negligent, catalogue, leach, diligent, lexicon, lexical, cull, astrology, dialectic, legation, alexia, cosmology, lignite, lexis, lignin, epilogue, gynecologist, ineligibility, dialogic, 151 more
through Proto-Hellenic *lógos
archaeological, pathological, etymology, homologous, pathophysiology, astrological, psychopathology, neurophysiology, histopathology, bacteriological, 102 more
through Ancient Greek λόγος ‘speech’
logic, apology, trilogy, analogy, sociology, terminology, physiology, logos, pathology, logistic, archaeologist, pathologist, eulogy, epistemology, monologue, entomology, etiology, bacteriology, apologia, syllogism, bacteriologist, 111 more
Today it means
noun A speech or section used as an introduction, especially to a play or novel.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / prologue