overture
noun
[ ˈəʊvətj(ʊ)ə ]
• an orchestral piece at the beginning of an opera, play, etc.
• "the overture to Mozart's ‘Don Giovanni’"
• an introduction to something more substantial.
• "the talks were no more than an overture to a long debate"
Similar:
preliminary,
prelude,
curtain-raiser,
introduction,
lead-in,
precursor,
forerunner,
harbinger,
herald,
start,
beginning,
opener,
• an approach or proposal made to someone with the aim of opening negotiations or establishing a relationship.
• "he began making overtures to British merchant banks"
Similar:
opening move,
conciliatory move,
move,
approach,
advances,
feeler,
signal,
proposal,
proposition,
pass,
offer,
tender,
suggestion,
Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘aperture’): from Old French, from Latin apertura ‘aperture’.
