exordium

Their invitation Dr. Fosdick expressed in a great exordium: The great east window of Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church has long needed proper furbishing in stained glass.

From Time Magazine Archive

The purpose of the exordium is to put the audience into a receptive and attentive frame of mind.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

I trembled violently at his exordium, and my father continued—

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

From the exordium, forwards, I followed his words closely, and lost none of his arguments.

From Ancient Faiths And Modern A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities by Thomas Inman

His countenance was careworn, and when he commenced his exordium, his voice was slightly cracked and tremulous.

From Historic Shrines of America Being the Story of One Hundred and Twenty Historic Buildings and the Pioneers Who Made Them Notable by John T. (John Thomson) Faris

I imagine that this sacred influence, under the name of Amphi, is often alluded to in the exordia of Poets, especially by the writers in Dithyrambic measure, when they address Apollo.

From A New System; or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology. Volume I. by Jacob Bryant

Matteo is valuable for the general reflections which form exordia to the eleven books that bear his name.

From Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7) The Age of the Despots by John Addington Symonds

They were seeking to catch some lyric exordia as they flew by immersed in the billows of the air.

From The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1 by Aristophanes

But in the exordia and perorations to the several books, as well as in sundry digressions, may be found matter of greater value, embodying the poet's views on the great questions of philosophy.

From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Charles Thomas Cruttwell

The attorney's misgivings on that head showed his astounding sagacity; for, indeed, nothing was more likely than that the notary, regardless of his exordiums, would rush into medias res by kicking him out of doors.

From The Village Notary by J?zsef E?tv?s

As therefore all orators make use of introductory remarks to get the benevolent attention of their audience, so our poet makes use of exordiums fitted to move and reach the hearer.

From Complete Works of Plutarch — Volume 3: Essays and Miscellanies by Plutarch

His exordiums in particular were often hobbling and always unassuming.

From Patrick Henry by Moses Coit Tyler

And so we need not trouble ourselves any more either about the insertions or about the exordiums.

From Joseph Andrews Vol 1 by Henry Fielding

Introductions, exordiums, perorations, and conclusions are worthless unless they be in reality a part of the discussion and necessary to the understanding of the whole.

From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster