Proleptically
adv
adv ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Adverb
- 1 In a proleptic manner; anticipatorily.
"When we name an event, calling it fire, we speak proleptically; we do not name an immediate event; that is impossible. We employ a term of discourse; we invoke a meaning, namely, the potential consequence of the existence."
Example
More examples"When we name an event, calling it fire, we speak proleptically; we do not name an immediate event; that is impossible. We employ a term of discourse; we invoke a meaning, namely, the potential consequence of the existence."
Etymology
From proleptic + -ally or proleptical + -ly.
More for "proleptically"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.