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protasis

noun prot·a·sis \ ˈprä-tə-səs \
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Definition of protasis

plural protases play \ˈprä-tə-ˌsēz\
1 : the introductory part of a play or narrative poem
2 : the subordinate clause of a conditional sentence — compare apodosis
—

protatic

play \prä-ˈta-tik, prō-\ adjective

Origin and Etymology of protasis

Late Latin, from Greek, premise of a syllogism, conditional clause, from proteinein to stretch out before, put forward, from pro- + teinein to stretch — more at thin

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