introduction

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act or process of introducing or the state of being introduced.
• noun A means, such as a personal letter, of presenting one person to another.
• noun Something recently introduced; an innovation.
• noun Something spoken, written, or otherwise presented in beginning or introducing something, especially.
• noun A preface, as to a book.
• noun Music A short preliminary passage in a larger movement or work.
• noun A basic introductory text or course of study.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of introducing, or leading or ushering in; the act of bringing in: as, the introduction of manufactures into a country.
• noun The act of inserting: as, the introduction of a probe into a wound.
• noun The act of making acquainted; the formal presentation of persons to one another, with mention of their names, etc.: as, an introduction in person or by letter.
• noun The act of bringing into notice, use, or practice: as, the introduction of a new fashion or invention.
• noun Something that leads to or opens the way for the understanding of something else; specifically, a preliminary explanation or statement; the part of a book or discourse which precedes the main work, and in which the author or speaker gives some general account of his design and subject; an elaborate preface, or a preliminary discourse.
• noun A more or less elementary treatise on any branch of study; a treatise leading the way to more elaborate works on the same subject: as, an introduction to botany.
• noun In music, a preparatory phrase or movement at the beginning of a work, or of a part of a work, designed to attract the hearer's attention or to foreshadow the subsequent themes or development.
• noun of each book
• noun of the canon or collection of the several books into the one book
• noun of the text, including a comparison of the various texts, and
• noun of the translations and versions. Synonyms Exordium, Introduction, Preface, Prelude, Preamble, Prologue. Exordium is the old or classic technical word in rhetoric for the beginning of an oration, up to the second division, which may be “narration,” “partition,” “proposition,” or the like. Introduction is a more general word, in this connection applying to spoken or written discourse, and covering whatever is preliminary to the subject; in a book it may be the opening chapter. As distinguished from the preface, the introduction is supposed to be an essential part of the discussion or treatment of the theme, and written at the outset of composition. A preface is supposed to be the last words of the author in connection with his subject, and is generally explanatory or conciliatory, having the style of more direct address to the reader. A prelude is generally an introductory piece of music (see the definition of overture); a preamble, of a resolution, an ordinance, or a law: as, the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. A prologue is a conciliatory spoken preface to a play. All these words have some freedom of figurative use.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of introducing, or bringing to notice.
• noun The act of formally making persons known to each other; a presentation or making known of one person to another by name.
• noun That part of a book or discourse which introduces or leads the way to the main subject, or part; preliminary; matter; preface; proem; exordium.
• noun A formal and elaborate preliminary treatise; specifically, a treatise introductory to other treatises, or to a course of study; a guide.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The act or process of introducing.
• noun A means, such as a personal letter, of presenting one person to another.
• noun An initial section of a book or article, which introduces the subject material.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun formally making a person known to another or to the public
• noun the act of putting one thing into another
• noun a new proposal
• noun the first section of a communication
• noun the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new
• noun a basic or elementary instructional text
• noun the act of beginning something new