prefiguration

[ pree-fig-yuh-rey-shuhn, pree-fig- ]

noun

1. the act of prefiguring.
2. that in which something is prefigured.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prefiguration¹

1350–1400; Middle English prefiguracioun < Late Latin praefigūrātiōn- (stem of praefigūrātiō ), equivalent to praefigūrāt ( us ) (past participle of praefigūrāre to prefigure ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

It’s a prefiguration — of how to think, how to collaborate, and how to stay sane when the private is gone.

From New York Times

Since the early 20th century, Cycladic figures have had iconic power for contemporary artists, as an ancient prefiguration of abstraction.

From Washington Post

“I wouldn’t say it’s a prefiguration of Romanticism; it is already Romantic. Rather, he goes straight to contemporary music, straight to Alban Berg.”

From New York Times

This future-facing prefiguration manifests one way that nostalgia isn’t destined solely to invite us into false romances with the past — it can also illuminate traditions that have long been operating in the margins.

From New York Times

Avineri imagines them strolling through the spa and “sharing their ideas about history, past, present and possibly future,” in a “dramatic prefiguration of the encounter between Zion and Kremlin.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• explanation
• expression
• gesture
• hint
• implication
• inkling
• manifestation
• omen
• proof
• reminder
• sign
• signal
• suggestion
• symptom
• trace
• warning