prefigure
verb /ˌpriːˈfɪɡə(r)/
/ˌpriːˈfɪɡjər/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they prefigure | /ˌpriːˈfɪɡə(r)/ /ˌpriːˈfɪɡjər/ |
| he / she / it prefigures | /ˌpriːˈfɪɡəz/ /ˌpriːˈfɪɡjərz/ |
| past simple prefigured | /ˌpriːˈfɪɡəd/ /ˌpriːˈfɪɡjərd/ |
| past participle prefigured | /ˌpriːˈfɪɡəd/ /ˌpriːˈfɪɡjərd/ |
| -ing form prefiguring | /ˌpriːˈfɪɡərɪŋ/ /ˌpriːˈfɪɡjərɪŋ/ |
- prefigure something to suggest or show something that will happen in the future
- These early paintings clearly prefigure his later work.
Word Originlate Middle English: from ecclesiastical Latin praefigurare ‘represent beforehand’, from prae ‘before’ + figurare ‘to form, fashion’.