Prolepsis
/prəˈlɛp.sɪs/noun
The anticipation of an objection, event, or future point in advance; in rhetoric, a device that preempts a response.
Did you know?In classical rhetoric, prolepsis was a strategic mind-game: you answered the attack before it was even spoken, like verbal precognition.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leip-
“to seize, take hold of”
Ancient Greek
Greek
πρόληψις (prólepsis)
“a prior taking, anticipation; also a preconception or preemption”
Late Latin
Latin
prolepsis
“anticipation, taking beforehand”
14th–16th Century
English
prolepsis
“the anticipation of a future event or objection in speech or writing”
Modern English
English
prolepsis
“the anticipation of an objection, event, or future point in advance”