Standard Lemma guide

protasis

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈpɹɒtəsɪs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The first part of a play, in which the setting and characters are introduced.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A clause that expresses a contingent element in a conditional sentence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences

Examples

  • In "I will be coming if this weather holds up", "if this weather holds up" is the protasis, and "I will be coming" is the apodosis.
  • 2005 B. P. Bairan: An Introduction to Syllogistic Logic Every conditional statement is made up of two component statements. The component statement that follows the "if" is called antecedent (or the "implicans" or — rarely — the "protasis"), and the component statement that follows the "then" is the "consequent"(or the "implicate" or — rarely — the "apodosis").

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: antecedent, conditional, hypothesis, implicans

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Late Latin protasis, from Ancient Greek πρότασις (prótasis), from προτείνω (proteínō, “put forward, tender, propose”), from πρό (pró) + τείνω (teínō, “stretch”).

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: pròtasi — clause that expresses a contingent element in a conditional sentence
  • Finnish: ehtolause — clause that expresses a contingent element in a conditional sentence
  • Finnish: protasis — clause that expresses a contingent element in a conditional sentence
  • French: protase — clause that expresses a contingent element in a conditional sentence
  • Polish: poprzednik — clause that expresses a contingent element in a conditional sentence
  • Spanish: prótasis — clause that expresses a contingent element in a conditional sentence