PROLEPSIS

n. (pl. prolepses) 1 the anticipation and answering of possible objections in rhetorical speech. 2 anticipation. 3 the representation of a thing as existing before it actually does or did so, as in he was a dead man when he entered. 4 Gram. the anticipatory use of adjectives, as in paint the town red. øøproleptic adj. [LL f. Gk prolepsis f. prolambano anticipate (as PRO-(2), lambano take)]