n.
Pronunciation: ' prä-t ə -s ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -a · ses \ - ˌ s ē z \
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek, premise of a syllogism, conditional clause, from proteinein to stretch out before, put forward, from pro- + teinein to stretch ― more at THIN
Date: circa 1568
1 : the introductory part of a play or narrative poem
2 : the subordinate clause of a conditional sentence ― compare APODOSIS
– pro · tat · ic \ prä- ' ta-tik, pr ō - \ adjective