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)
彼の言い出しで、会議が始まった。
The meeting started with his opening words.
言い出しにくい話だけど、聞いてくれる？
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.
person who first suggested something; person who brought up a matter
first person to say something; first person to suggest something; originator of an idea
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).