prefiguration

[pree-fig-yuh-rey-shuh n, pree-fig-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prefiguration ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

that in which something is prefigured.

Origin of prefiguration

1350–1400; Middle English prefiguracioun < Late Latin praefigūrātiōn- (stem of praefigūrātiō), equivalent to praefigūrāt(us) (past participle of praefigūrāre to prefigure) + -iōn- -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for prefiguration

omen, trace, hint, signal, sign, warning, symptom, suggestion, manifestation, implication, reminder, inkling, expression, explanation, gesture, proof, pledge, show, augury, portent

Examples from the Web for prefiguration

Historical Examples of prefiguration

"This prefiguration of the Word by Noah is certainly curious," remarked Durtal.
The Cathedral
Joris-Karl Huysmans
The very resolution of those “splashes of colour” into faces is the prefiguration of the modern conception of form.
Modern Painting, Its Tendency and Meaning
Willard Huntington Wright

British Dictionary definitions for prefiguration

prefiguration

noun

the act of prefiguring

something that prefigures, such as a prototype

Derived Formsprefigurative, adjectiveprefiguratively, adverbprefigurativeness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for prefiguration

late 14c., from Late Latin praefigurationem (nominative praefiguratio), noun of action from past participle stem of praefigurare "to prefigure" (see prefigure).