SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Prologue — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
Analyzes prologos as speaking before.
Etymology and Did You Know?- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 138
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
resolvedestablished
Does the -logue in prologue mean a field of study?
No. Greek prologos is pro- “before” plus logos “speech or discourse”: a speech beforehand. English -logy belongs to the same wider family but is not the component analyzed here.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 138
prologue
/ˈproʊˌlɒɡ/ · noun
An introductory speech, section, or event; inherited through medieval French and Latin from Greek prologos.
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
2 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
SOURCE 02supportshistorical dictionary
Prologue — Origin and history
Independently analyzes pro plus logos as speech beforehand.
Headword etymology- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Douglas Harper
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Online Etymology Dictionary
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE CURRENT RECORD IS RESOLVED.
- CONFIDENCE
- established
- STATUS
- resolved
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- Merriam-Webster and Etymonline independently publish the before-speech formation.
The graph connects the words at logos without replacing one suffix with another.