prologue

 
Pronunciation: /ˈprəʊlɒg/
(US prolog)

noun

  • 1a separate introductory section of a literary, dramatic, or musical work: the suppressed prologue to Women in Love
  • archaic the actor who delivers the prologue in a play.
  • 2an event or act that leads to another: the events from 1945 to 1956 provided the prologue to the post-imperial era
  • (in professional cycling) a short preliminary time trial held before a race to establish a leader: I got third in the prologue and eighth on the hardest stage

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French, via Latin from Greek prologos, from pro- 'before' + logos 'saying'

Spelling help

Remember that prologue ends with -logue (the spelling prolog is American).