This is the 4757th most frequent French word.
préliminaire
Preliminary; introductory or preparatory.
Here, 'préliminaires' is used as an adjective describing notes, suggesting that they are initial or introductory notes prepared before the main event.
Nous avons révisé les notes préliminaires avant la réunion.
We reviewed the preliminary notes before the meeting.
In this example, 'préliminaires' serves as an adjective modifying 'étapes', referring to initial steps required in preparation for the main tasks of the project.
Avant de commencer le projet, nous devons établir les étapes préliminaires.
Before starting the project, we must establish the preliminary steps.
Here, 'préliminaires' describes chapters, indicating that they are introductory or preparatory chapters at the beginning of the book.