prefigure

pre·fig·ure

transitive verb

-·ured, -·ur·ing

to suggest beforehand; be an antecedent figure or type of; foreshadow
to picture to oneself, or imagine, beforehand

Origin of prefigure

Middle English prefiguren from Ecclesiastical Late Latin praefigurare from Classical Latin prae-, pre- + figurare, to fashion: see figure

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MLA Style

"prefigure." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prefigure>.

APA Style

prefigure. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prefigure

prefigure

transitive verb

pre·fig·ured, pre·fig·ur·ing, pre·fig·ures

To suggest, indicate, or represent by an antecedent form or model; presage or foreshadow: The paintings of Paul Cézanne prefigured the rise of cubism in the early 1900s.
Archaic To imagine in advance.

Origin of prefigure

Middle English prefiguren from Old French prefigurer from Late Latin praefigūrāre Latin prae- pre- Latin figūrāre to shape ( from figūra shape ; see dheigh- in Indo-European roots.)

Related Forms:

pre·fig′ur·a·tive
adjective

pre·fig′ur·a·tive·ly
adverb

pre·fig′ure·ment
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"prefigure." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prefigure>.

APA Style

prefigure. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prefigure

Verb

(third-person singular simple present prefigures, present participle prefiguring, simple past and past participle prefigured)

To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand (often used in a Biblical context)
To predict or foresee

Origin

From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture").

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"prefigure." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prefigure>.

APA Style

prefigure. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prefigure

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prefigure

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prefigure

prefigure

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