The opening or introduction of a speech, essay, or musical composition.
From Latin exordium, meaning 'beginning,' from exordiri 'to begin to weave,' combining ex- 'out' and ordiri 'to begin.' The term was a standard part of classical rhetoric.
Medieval and Renaissance scholars studied Latin rhetoric so intently that they imported the exact word 'exordium' into English rather than translating it—it shows how much prestige the classical model held in European education.
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