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In preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory. quotations examples
And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into 'Beasts of England' in tremendous unison.
1945 August 17, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 1, in Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg
plural preliminaries
A preparation for a main matter; an introduction. quotations examples
In the Chinese novels, often of a very literary character, devoted to masculine love, it seems that all the preliminaries and transports of normal love are to be found, while physical union may terminate the scene.
1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)
Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists examples
A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing examples