also: じょことば
noun
foreword; preface; introduction
Only with reading じょし
General term for an introductory statement in a book or document. Reading is じょし.
この本の序詞には著者の思いが綴られている。
The author's thoughts are written in the preface of this book.
noun
prefatory modifying statement (in waka)
A poetic device in classical waka where an introductory phrase modifies or leads into the main statement. Often read じょことば in this context.
和歌における序詞は、後の句を導く修辞技法の一つだ。
In waka, the prefatory modifying statement is one of the rhetorical techniques that lead into the following phrase.
From 序 (introductory) + 詞 (words). The reading じょことば is a kun'yomi-based reading used specifically for the classical poetic sense.