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prolepsis

 - 5 dictionary results

pro·lep·sis

   [proh-lep-sis]
–noun,plural-ses  [-seez] .
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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Origin:
1570–80; < LL prolēpsis < Gk prólēpsis anticipation, preconception, equiv. to prolēp- (verbid s. of prolambánein to anticipate (pro- pro-2 + lambánein to take)) + -sis -sis

—Related forms
pro·lep·tic  [proh-lep-tik] , pro·lep·ti·cal, adjective
pro·lep·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
prolepsis (prəʊˈlɛpsɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -ses
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
 
[C16: via Late Latin from Greek: anticipation, from prolambanein to anticipate, from pro-² + lambanein to take]
 
pro'leptic
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

prolepsis
1577, "the taking of something future as already done or existing," from L., from Gk. prolepsis "an anticipating," lit. "a taking beforehand," from prolambanein "to take before," from pro- "before" + lambanein "to take" (see analemma).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

prolepsis pro·lep·sis (prō-lěp'sĭs)
n. pro·lep·ses (-sēz)
The return of paroxysms of a recurrent disease at intervals that progressively become shorter.

pro·lep'tic (-lěp'tĭk) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

prolepsis

a figure of speech in which a future act or development is represented as if already accomplished or existing. The following lines from John Keats's "Isabella" (1820), for example, proleptically anticipate the assassination of a living character:So the two brothers and their murdered manRode past fair

Learn more about prolepsis with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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