Crossword Genius

Rewrote, or I axed the introductory parts of the speech (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exordia

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'introductory parts of the speech' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'rewrote or i axed' is the wordplay.
'rewrote' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'or'+'i'+'axed'='oriaxed'
'oriaxed' is an anagram of 'EXORDIA'.

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for exordia that I've seen before include "Starts to lecture" , "introductory sections" , "Parts of speech" , "Introductions" , "Introductory parts" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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