proleptic

American  

[proh-lep-tik] / proʊˈlɛp tɪk /

Sometimes proleptical

adjective

1. (of a date) retroactively calculated using a later calendar than the one used at the time.

   To make comparisons more simple, all dates are shown using the proleptic Gregorian calendar—that is, the modern Western calendar extrapolated into the past.

2. involving or characterized by prolepsis, the anticipatory use of arguments, adjectives, etc..

   The proleptic idiom “to be dead meat” uses a present-tense description to suggest one’s future doom.

3. anticipatory; foreshadowing.

   The proleptic detail of the borrowed scythe clearly reveals that the character’s life on stage will be of short duration.

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Other Word Forms

• proleptically adverb

Etymology

Origin of proleptic

First recorded in 1655–65; prolep(sis) ( def. ) + -tic ( def. )

Example Sentences

Kalanithi died too soon to recant the insights that come with the gradual discovery of one’s own consciousness, and his book is suffused with a proleptic nostalgia for a youth still in its efflorescence.

From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2016

So there’s a proleptic shadow on Eve’s lie, something heartsore that points at the brokenness or inadequacy of the world-as-is.

From Slate • Feb. 6, 2015

With our regular season half shot, football junkies, bloodlust barely sated, are already suffering proleptic pangs of withdrawal.

From Time Magazine Archive

Old-style formalities like seeing the exhibition or reading its catalog were dropped as writers like Barbara Rose in the Journal of Art expressed their proleptic disapproval of what the show would be and do.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the worst such an address could only be criticised as proleptic, since it must be justified almost immediately by Anastasia’s acceptance of his proposal.

From The Nebuly Coat by Falkner, John Meade