LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

exōrdium

exōrdium n (genitive exōrdiī or exōrdī)
Classical[ɛkˈsoːr.di.ũː]Ecclesiastical[eɡˈzɔr.di.um]

Meaning

  1. beginning, commencement
  2. introduction, preface, start or beginning of a speech
    Heu quid agat? Quō nunc rēgīnam ambīre furentemOh, what should he do now? How is he to solicit the distraught queen, [and] dare implore her? Which first words ought he choose? (Aeneas commits to leave Carthage and ponders the doubly emphatic “prima exordia.” Idiomatically, what does he even begin to tell Dido? How can he broach the subject with her?)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.283–284
  3. foundation, creation
    ab exordio urbisfrom the founding of the city (especially Rome)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeexōrdiumexōrdia
genitiveexōrdiī
exōrdī		exōrdiōrum
dativeexōrdiōexōrdiīs
accusativeexōrdiumexōrdia
ablativeexōrdiōexōrdiīs
vocativeexōrdiumexōrdia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

sermo inductus a tali exordio
the conversation began in this way.

exordĭum, ii, n. exordior, I..
I. Prop., the beginning, the warp of a web (rare): non possum togam praetextam sperare, cum exordium pullum videam, Quint. 5, 10, 71.—
II. Transf., in gen., a beginning, commencement (the usual meaning; syn.: initium, principium, primordium): neve inde navis inchoandae exordium Coepisset, quae, etc., Enn. ap. Auct. Her. 2, 22, 34 (Trag. v. 282 ed. Vahl.): hujus quoque exordium mali, quoniam principium boni diximus, explicemus, Cic. Inv. 1, 3, 3; cf.: institutae rei publicae clarum ac tam omnibus notum, id. Rep. 2, 2: a qua totius vitae ducat exor dium, id. Fin. 5, 7, 18; cf.: a quibus tempo ribus scribendi capiat exordium, id. Leg. 1, 3, 8: paene ab exordio Urbis, Suet. Vesp. 8; id. Tib. 42: tertius (annus) a prima vigilia sumens exordium, Amm. 26, 1, 9.—In plur.: rerum, Lucr. 2, 333; 3, 31; 4, 114; cf. Verg. E. 6, 33: priva animaï, Lucr. 3, 380: solis lunaeque, id. 5, 471: rationis, id. 1, 149: primae pugnae, Verg. A. 7, 40 et saep.—
B. In partic., of speech: saepe animadverti, summos oratores in dicendi exordio permoveri, Cic. de Or. 1, 27, 122: ergo ita nascetur exordium, id. Tusc. 1, 4 fin.—As part of a speech or writing, the introduction, exordium, proëm, preface (syn.: prooemium, praefatio, prologus): exordium est principium orationis, per quod animus auditoris aut judicis constituitur vel apparatur ad audiendum, Auct. Her. 1, 3, 4; cf. Quint. 4, 1, 1 sq.: tum denique id, quod primum est dicendum, postremum soleo cogitare, quo utar exordio, Cic. de Or. 2, 77 fin.: proximus liber a prima parte, id est exordio incipiet, Quint. 3, 11, 28; 1, 12, 19: in exordio pro Milone, id. 9, 4, 133; 9, 4, 74 et saep.— In plur., Quint. 11, 3, 161: quae prima exordia sumat? Verg. A. 4, 284.—
2. Transf., a writing, treatise, in gen., Col. 5, 11, 13; 7, 5, 1; 7, 12, 1 al.

Origins

From exōrdior.

Descendants
  • Catalanexordi
  • Englishexord
  • Englishexordium
  • Frenchexorde
  • Italianesordio
  • Portugueseexórdio
  • Romanianexordiu
  • Spanishexordio
  • Galicianexordio

In English words that came into English from exōrdium

  • exordiumexōrdium
  • exordexōrdium

Quick answers

What does exōrdium mean in Latin?
exōrdium, a noun, means “beginning, commencement; introduction, preface, start or beginning of a speech; foundation, creation”.
What is the genitive of exōrdium?
The genitive singular is exōrdiī. exōrdium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce exōrdium?
In classical Latin, [ɛkˈsoːr.di.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [eɡˈzɔr.di.um].