préambule
French, noun
préambule is spelled P-R-É-A-M-B-U-L-E (9 letters) and appears 2.9 times per million words in written French, the 16,327th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Préambule is a French masculine noun meaning “preamble (a short statement or remark, especially an explanatory introduction to a formal document or statute)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of préambuler. With an accent, préambulé is a different word: “past participle of préambuler”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Avant-propos ; entrée en matière”.
What does préambule mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinepreamble (a short statement or remark, especially an explanatory introduction to a formal document or statute)
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of préambuler
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Avant-propos ; entrée en matière. 2. Partie préliminaire d’une constitution, d’une loi, d’un édit, d’une ordonnance, etc. 3. Introduction vague et longuette.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of préambule
- préambules plural
- préambulée feminine
- préambulés masculine plural
- préambulées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to préambule
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is préambule in French?
préambule appears 2.9 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).