prolepsis

American  

[proh-lep-sis] / proʊˈlɛp sɪs /

noun

prolepses plural

1. Rhetoric. the anticipation of possible objections in order to answer them in advance.

2. the assigning of a person, event, etc., to a period earlier than the actual one; the representation of something in the future as if it already existed or had occurred; prochronism.

3. the use of a descriptive word in anticipation of its becoming applicable.

4. a fundamental conception or assumption in Epicureanism or Stoicism arising spontaneously in the mind without conscious reflection; thought provoked by sense perception.

5. Pathology. the return of an attack of a periodic disease or of a paroxysm before the expected time or at progressively shorter intervals.

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prolepsis British  

/ prəʊˈlɛpsɪs /

noun

1. a rhetorical device by which objections are anticipated and answered in advance

2. use of a word after a verb in anticipation of its becoming applicable through the action of the verb, as flat in hammer it flat

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• proleptic
  adjective
• proleptical
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prolepses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prolepsis

First recorded in 1570–80; from Late Latin prolēpsis, from Greek prólēpsis “anticipation, preconception,” equivalent to prolēp-, future stem of prolambánein “to anticipate” ( pro- “for, before” + lambánein “to take”) + -sis noun suffix ( see -sis

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prolepsis prolepses

Through its use of foreshadowing and prolepsis, “The Arabian Nights” consistently fosters a fatalistic sense that no one can escape his or her destiny.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 11, 2019

In fact, Fo makes explicit reference to the theater throughout, and uses borrowed techniques — including a visual “proscenium,” prolepsis, asides, interludes, shifting scenes and the dismantling of the fourth wall.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 10, 2015

In formal rhetoric, prolepsis means the anticipation of possible objections to an argument for the sake of answering them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2015

This is a prolepsis; for the battle was fought in 1640.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 344, June, 1844 by Various

It was a prolepsis of the soul, reaching upward towards its source and goal.

From Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by Cocker, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)

In order to portray the Empire in the round, he told his almost 2,000-page story through a complex symphony of flashbacks, fast-forward prolepses and as many as 13 perspectives on a single incident.

From Time Magazine Archive