opening words; speaking out; broaching a topic
Refers to the act of bringing up a subject or starting to speak, often in contexts like making a suggestion or initiating a conversation. Related to the verb 言い出す.
See also: 言い出す (いいだす)
The meeting started with his opening words.
It's a hard topic to bring up, but will you listen?
言い出し (bringing up a topic) and 言い訳 (an excuse) share the 言い- prefix but describe unrelated speech acts.
Standard kanji spelling.
Less common variant without okurigana.
Noun form of the verb 言い出す (to speak out, to broach), from 言い (stem of 言う 'to say') + 出す (to take out, to start).