Apreface (/ˈprɛfəs/) orproem (/ˈproʊɛm/) is an introduction to abook or otherliterary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is aforeword[contradictory] and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes with acknowledgments of those who assisted in the literary work.
It often covers the story of how the book came into being, or how the idea for the book was developed; this may be followed by thanks and acknowledgments to people who were helpful to the author during the time of writing.
A preface is often signed (and the date and place of writing often follow the typeset signature); a foreword by another person is always signed. Information essential to the main text is generally placed in a set of explanatory notes, or perhaps in an "Introduction" that may be paginated withArabic numerals, rather than in the preface. The termpreface can also mean any preliminary or introductory statement. It is sometimes abbreviatedpref.
Preface comes fromLatin, meaning either "spoken before" (prae andfatia)[1][2] or "made before" (prae +factum). While the former source of the word could have preface meaning the same asprologue, the latter strongly implies an introduction written before the body of the book. With this meaning of stated intention, British publishing up to at least the middle of the twentieth century distinguished between preface and introduction.
