\Pro*lep"sis\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, from ? to take
beforehand; ? before + ? to take.]
1. (Rhet.)
   (a) A figure by which objections are anticipated or
       prevented. --Abp. Bramhall.
   (b) A necessary truth or assumption; a first or assumed
       principle.

2. (Chron.) An error in chronology, consisting in an event
   being dated before the actual time.

3. (Gram.) The application of an adjective to a noun in
   anticipation, or to denote the result, of the action of
   the verb; as, to strike one dumb.