prolepsis
/pɹoʊˈlɛpsɪs/ noun
Forms prolepses
- noun (rhetoric) The assignment of something to a period of time that precedes it.
- noun (rhetoric) The anticipation of an objection to an argument.
- noun (grammar, rhetoric) A construction that consists of placing an element in a syntactic unit before that to which it would logically correspond.
- noun (philosophy, epistemology) A so-called "preconception", i.e., a pre-theoretical notion which can lead to true knowledge of the world.
- noun (botany) Growth in which lateral branches develop from a lateral meristem, after the formation of a bud or following a period of dormancy, when the lateral meristem is split from a terminal meristem.
- noun (narratology) The practice of placing information about the ending of a story near the beginning, as a literary device.
Synonyms
procatalepsis prebuttal left dislocation cataphora anachronism flashforward foreshadowing
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin prolepsis, from Ancient Greek πρόληψις (prólēpsis, “preconception, anticipation”), from προλαμβάνω (prolambánō, “take beforehand, anticipate”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun (a) A figure by which objections are anticipated or prevented. Abp.
- noun An error in chronology, consisting in an event being dated before the actual time.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “prolepsis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details