WordNet

the act of beginning something new; "they looked forward to the debut of their new product line" (同)debut, first appearance, launching, unveiling, entry
a basic or elementary instructional text
a new proposal; "they resisted the introduction of impractical alternatives"
the first section of a communication
a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book (同)preface, prolusion

PrepTutorEJDIC

(論文などの)『序文』,『はしがき』;(演説などの)前置き《+『to』+『名』》 / 《話》(行動の)きっかけ,序の口・…‘に'序文(前置き)をつける《+『名』+『with』(『by』)+『名』》 / …‘の'前置き(導入)の役を果たす
〈U〉〈C〉(…に人を)『紹介すること』《+『of』+『名』〈人〉+『to』+『名』》 / 〈U〉(…に物・事を)紹介すること,取り入れること《+『of』+『名』+『into』(『to, among』)+『名』》 / 〈C〉(本論・主題に入る前の)『序論』,序説 / 〈C〉(…への)入門[書]《+『to』+『名』》
(特に他の人が著者を紹介する)はしがき,前書き

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出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』「2016/02/25 12:27:45」(JST)

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Preface to the poem Milton by William Blake

A preface (/ˈprɛfᵻs/) or proem (/ˈproʊɛm/) is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes with acknowledgments of those who assisted in the literary work.

A preface generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or how the idea for the book was developed; this is often followed by thanks and acknowledgments to people who were helpful to the author during the time of writing.

A preface is usually 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 with Arabic numerals, rather than in the preface. The term preface can also mean any preliminary or introductory statement. It is sometimes abbreviated pref.

Preface comes from the Latin, meaning either "spoken before" (prae and fatia)^[1]^[2] or "made before" (prae + factum). While the former source of the word could have preface meaning the same as prologue, 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.