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prequel

 - 4 dictionary results

pre⋅quel

[pree-kwuhl]
–noun
a literary, dramatic, or filmic work that prefigures a later work, as by portraying the same characters at a younger age.

Origin:
1970–75; pre- + (se)quel
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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pre·quel   (prē'kwəl)   
n.  A literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative takes place before that of a preexisting work or a sequel.

[pre- + (se)quel.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

prequel 
1973, from pre-, based on sequel (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

prequel

a literary or dramatic work whose story precedes that of an earlier-written work. For example, Lillian Hellman's play Another Part of the Forest (1946) portrays the earlier lives of the characters she first wrote about in The Little Foxes (1939).

Learn more about prequel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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