[ prəʊ'lɛpsɪs , -'li:psɪs ]
■ noun ( plural prolepses -si:z )
1》 Rhetoric the anticipation and answering of possible objections.
2》 the representation of a thing as existing before it actually does or did so, as in he was a dead man when he entered .
↘a literary device in which a future event is prefigured.
Derivatives
proleptic adjective
Origin
ME: via late L. from Gk prolēpsis , from prolambanein 'anticipate', from pro 'before' + lambanein 'take'.