What does "proleptical" mean?

Anticipating the usual time; applied to a periodical disease whose paroxysms return at an earlier hour at every repetition.

How do you pronounce "proleptical"?

Pronounced //pɹəʊˈlɛptɪkəl//.

//pɹəʊˈlɛptɪkəl// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Anticipating the usual time; applied to a periodical disease whose paroxysms return at an earlier hour at every repetition.
2
Previous; antecedent.
"Nor can the proleptical notions of Religion be so well defended by the protest Servants of the Altar"
3
Of or pertaining to prolepsis; anticipative.
"It must be always remembered that this was the object for which the Three Chapters which the Predestinarians have taken refuge in: they were written in fact as a proleptical refutation of such views."

"Nor can the proleptical notions of Religion be so well defended by the protest Servants of the Altar"

From Ancient Greek; compare French proleptique.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.