prolepsis
[ proh-lep-sis ]
/ proʊˈlɛp sɪs /
noun, plural pro·lep·ses [proh-lep-seez] /proʊˈlɛp siz/.
Rhetoric. the anticipation of possible objections in order to answer them in advance.
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.
the use of a descriptive word in anticipation of its becoming applicable.
a fundamental conception or assumption in Epicureanism or Stoicism arising spontaneously in the mind without conscious reflection; thought provoked by sense perception.
Pathology. the return of an attack of a periodic disease or of a paroxysm before the expected time or at progressively shorter intervals.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- prolation,
- prole,
- proleg,
- prolegomenon,
- prolegomenous,
- proleptic,
- proles,
- proletarian,
- proletarianism,
- proletarianize
Origin of prolepsis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for prolepsis
It was a prolepsis of the soul, reaching upward towards its source and goal.
Christianity and Greek Philosophy|Benjamin Franklin CockerAn instance of prolepsis, or "anticipation" in the use of a word.
The Lady of the Lake|Sir Walter Scott
prolepsis
/ (prəʊˈlɛpsɪs) /
noun plural -ses (-siːz)
a rhetorical device by which objections are anticipated and answered in advance
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
Word Origin for prolepsis
C16: via Late Latin from Greek: anticipation, from prolambanein to anticipate, from pro- ² + lambanein to take
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
prolepsis
1570s, "the taking of something anticipated as already done or existing," from Latin prolepsis, from Greek prolepsis "an anticipating," literally "a taking beforehand," from prolambanein "to take before," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + lambanein "to take" (see analemma). Related: Proleptic; proleptical; proleptically.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
prolepsis
[ prō-lĕp′sĭs ]
n. pl. pro•lep•ses (-sēz)
The return of paroxysms of a recurrent disease at intervals that progressively become shorter.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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