"preludes" in the noun sense
1. preliminary, overture, prelude
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
"training is a necessary preliminary to employment"
"drinks were the overture to dinner"
2. prelude
music that precedes a fugue or introduces an act in an opera
"preludes" in the verb sense
1. prelude
serve as a prelude or opening to
2. prelude
play as a prelude
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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