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
Derived forms
proleptic (proˈleptic) or proleptical (proˈleptical)
adjective
Word origin
C16: via Late Latin from Greek: anticipation, from prolambanein to anticipate, from pro-2 + lambanein to take
prolepsis in American English
(proʊˈlɛpsɪs)
nounWord forms: pluralproˈlepˌses (proʊˈlɛpˌsiz)
an anticipating; esp., the describing of an event as taking place before it could have done so, the treating of a future event as if it had already happened, or the anticipating and answering of an argument before one's opponent has a chance to advance it
Derived forms
proleptic (proˈleptic)
adjective
Word origin
L < Gr prolēpsis, an anticipating < prolambanein, to take before < pro-, before + lambanein, to take: see lemma1