something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner"
a minor match preceding the main event
designed to orient or acquaint with a situation before proceeding; "a preliminary investigation"
protective secretion of the mucous membranes; in the gut it lubricates the passage of food and protects the epithelial cells; in the nose and throat and lungs it can make it difficult for bacteria to penetrate the body through the epithelium
in some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means; "they managed somehow"; "he expected somehow to discover a woman who would love him"; "he tried to make is someway acceptable"
for some unspecified reason; "It doesn't seem fair somehow"; "he had me dead to rights but somehow I got away with it"; "for some reason they didn't seem to match"
some situation or event that is thought about; "he kept drifting off the topic"; "he had been thinking about the subject for several years"; "it is a matter for the police"
a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn; "on the assumption that he has been injured we can infer that he will not to play"
take something as preexisting and given
set forth beforehand, often as an explanation; "He premised these remarks so that his readers might understand"