epilogue means A short speech, spoken directly at the audience at the end of a play. It carries an Arena rating of 1515, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, epilogue ranks #722 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,861 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,875 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #5,503 of 17,093 for Most Storied Words.
epilogue is pronounced /ˈɛp.ɪ.lɒɡ/.
Why “epilogue” is a great word
A concluding section added to a literary or dramatic work, providing further comment or resolution. From the Ancient Greek ἐπίλογος (epílogos, 'a conclusion, peroration of a speech'), from ἐπί (epi, 'in addition') and λόγος (logos, 'word, speech'), borrowed into English in the early 15th century from Middle French epilogue, from Latin epilogus. Unlike a prologue, which ushers the reader across the threshold, or an afterword, which draws back the curtain to reveal the author’s hand, an epilogue is a quiet step beyond the final curtain, a return to the stage when the house lights should be rising. It is the lovers' hands still clasped decades later, the battlefield now overgrown with wildflowers, or the single lamp left burning in a window long after the travelers have departed—a formal, human insistence that life persists beyond the final page, the story gently folded into memory.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French epilogue, from Latin epilogus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίλογος (epílogos, “a conclusion, peroration of a speech, epilogue of a play”), from ἐπιλέγω (epilégō, “to say in addition”). Eclipsed Middle English lenvoie (“epilogue”) borrowed ultimately from Old French. Equivalent to epi- + -logue.
noun
- A short speech, spoken directly at the audience at the end of a playe.g.“In the play’s epilogue, the actor addressed the audience directly.”
- The performer who gives this speech
- A brief oration or script at the end of a literary piece; an afterworde.g.“The novel ended with a short epilogue.”
- A component of a computer program that prepares the computer to return from a routine.
verb
- To conclude with an epilogue.
Words closest in meaning
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