proleptic

[proh-lep-sis]

pro·lep·sis

[proh-lep-sis]
noun, plural pro·lep·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.

Origin:
1570–80; < Late Latin prolēpsis < Greek prólēpsis anticipation, preconception, equivalent to prolēp- (verbid stem of prolambánein to anticipate (pro- pro-2 + lambánein to take)) + -sis -sis

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. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To proleptic

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Proleptic is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
prolepsis (prəʊˈlɛpsɪs)
 
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
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT