prot·a·sis

(prŏt′ə-sĭs)

n. pl. prot·a·ses (-sēz′)

1. Grammar The dependent clause of a conditional sentence, as if it rains in The game will be canceled if it rains.

2. The first part of an ancient Greek or Roman drama, in which the characters and subject are introduced.

[Late Latin, proposition, first part of a play, from Greek, premise of a syllogism, conditional clause, from proteinein, prota-, to propose : pro-, forward; see pro-² + teinein, to stretch; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

pro·tat′ic (prŏ-tăt′ĭk, prō-) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

protasis

(ˈprɒtəsɪs)

n, pl -ses (-siːz)

1. (Logic) logic grammar the antecedent of a conditional statement, such as if it rains in if it rains the game will be cancelled. Compare apodosis

2. (Theatre) (in classical drama) the introductory part of a play

[C17: via Latin from Greek: a proposal, from pro- before + teinein to extend]

protatic adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

prot•a•sis

(ˈprɒt ə sɪs)

n., pl. -ses (-ˌsiz)

1. the clause expressing the condition in a conditional sentence, in English usu. beginning with if. Compare apodosis.

2. the first part of an ancient drama, in which the characters are introduced.

[1610–20; < Late Latin < Greek prótasis proposition, protasis =prota- s., in n. derivation, of proteínein to stretch out, offer, propose (pro- pro-² + teínein to stretch) + -sis -sis]

protasis

Classical Drama, the first part of a play, when the characters are introduced. Cf. epitasis. See also grammar; wisdom. — protatic, adj.

See also: Grammar

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References in periodicals archive

(RS 18.06-17.365: 11'-15') The injunctions nerta lipusunissu and lihalliqusu in the apodosis echo both forms of violence expressed in the protasis, nerta eppas and ana hulluqi.

Gender and Politics at Ugarit: The Undoing of the Daughter of the Great Lady

(113) My reason for retaining "premise" over "proposition" is that I believe our translation should allow us to understand protasis here as both a demonstrative premise and a dialectical premise ([phrase omitted]).

AKRATIC IGNORANCE AND ENDOXIC INQUIRY

Asi las cosas, podemos interpretar la protasis <<cuando justas causas dificultan hacer un proceso judicial>> en dos perspectivas.

Los supuestos de aplicacion extrajudicial de penas en el Derecho Canonico

Even when no character is concerned, even without a protasis, the counterfactual constitutes the means of disclosure: "On the evening under consideration, it would have been noticed that, though the gloom had increased sufficiently to confuse the minor features of the heath, the white surface of the road remained almost as clear as ever" (RN 12).

The unreal path to a real place: six strategies of representation in the novels of Thomas Hardy

In a decade when the children's troupes were still the preferred entertainers at court, performing relatively longer plays exhibiting classical Terentian structure (e.g., protasis, epitasis, catastrophe, and even in plays like Campaspe and Sappho and Phao, sometimes printed in five acts) as well as engaged in the conversion of indoor spaces for the use of performing plays, a habit of conflating the two traditions, or assuming simply one, has rendered us unable to distinguish emerging practices from those that were lingering, particularly when examining the relationship between players and printed drama.

The Influence of Children's Stagecraft: Chapel, School, and Popular Performance in the 1580s