1. the opening words or first lines of a text, especially a manuscript or literary work
Usage: literary; academic

Examples

• The scholar catalogued the incipits of medieval manuscripts in the library.
• Many hymns are identified by their incipits rather than their titles.
• The database contains incipits from over 500 ancient texts.
• Researchers use incipits to identify and classify fragmentary documents.
• The incipit ‘In the beginning was the Word’ is instantly recognizable.
• Medieval scribes often decorated the incipits with elaborate illuminations.