exordium

English

Etymology

From Latin exōrdium (“beginning, commencement”), from exōrdior (“I begin, commence”), from ex (“out of, from”) + ōrdior (“I begin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛɡˈzɔːdɪəm/

Noun

exordium (plural exordiums or exordia)

1. A beginning
2. The introduction to a paper or discourse.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.17:

     Cicero thinks, in discourses of philosophy, the exordium to be the hardest part: if it be so, I wisely lay hold on the conclusion.

   • 1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:

     This is a feeble article of faith to begin with, but it helps to push my pen through this exordium and what now follows.

Translations

beginning

• Bulgarian: начало (bg) (načalo) n
• Portuguese: exórdio (pt) m

• Russian: начало (ru) (načálo) n
• Spanish: exordio (es) m

introduction to a paper or discourse

• Bulgarian: увод (bg) (uvod) m, въведение (bg) (vǎvedenie) n
• Portuguese: vexórdio (pt) m

• Russian: вступление (ru) (vstuplénije) n, введение (ru) (vvedénije) n
• Spanish: exordio (es) m

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Latin

Noun

exordium (genitive exordiī); n, second declension

1. beginning, commencement
2. introduction, preface

Inflection

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	exordium	exordia
genitive	exordiī	exordiōrum
dative	exordiō	exordiīs
accusative	exordium	exordia
ablative	exordiō	exordiīs
vocative	exordium	exordia