"prefigure" meaning in English

See prefigure in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /pɹiːfɪɡjɚ/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-prefigure.wav Forms: prefigures [plural]
Etymology: From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture”). Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|prefiguren}} Middle English prefiguren, {{der|en|la|praefigurare}} Latin praefigurare Head templates: {{en-noun}} prefigure (plural prefigures)
  1. That which prefigures or appears to predict; a harbinger.
    Sense id: en-prefigure-en-noun-vFJI7PPJ

Verb

IPA: /pɹiːfɪɡjɚ/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-prefigure.wav Forms: prefigures [present, singular, third-person], prefiguring [participle, present], prefigured [participle, past], prefigured [past]
Etymology: From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture”). Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|prefiguren}} Middle English prefiguren, {{der|en|la|praefigurare}} Latin praefigurare Head templates: {{en-verb}} prefigure (third-person singular simple present prefigures, present participle prefiguring, simple past and past participle prefigured)
  1. (often in a Biblical context) To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand. Translations (show ahead of time): загатвам предварително (zagatvam predvaritelno) (Bulgarian), préfigurer (French)
    Sense id: en-prefigure-en-verb-I5Rce4KT Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with French translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 13 86 1 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 8 89 3 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 14 49 2 31 4 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 9 55 1 33 2 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 13 82 5 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 12 83 5 Disambiguation of 'show ahead of time': 100 0
  2. To predict or foresee.
    Sense id: en-prefigure-en-verb-VU0HChO0
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: presage, portend, forereckon, foreshadow, announce Derived forms: prefigurement

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "prefigurement"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "prefiguren"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English prefiguren",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "praefigurare"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin praefigurare",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "prefigures",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "prefiguring",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "prefigured",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "prefigured",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "prefigure (third-person singular simple present prefigures, present participle prefiguring, simple past and past participle prefigured)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "13 86 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 89 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "14 49 2 31 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 55 1 33 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 82 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "12 83 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2018 September 29, Roger Burrows, “On Neoreaction”, in The Sociological Review Magazine:",
          "text": "Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, all prefigure NRx urban futures.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand."
      ],
      "id": "en-prefigure-en-verb-I5Rce4KT",
      "links": [
        [
          "show",
          "show"
        ],
        [
          "suggest",
          "suggest"
        ],
        [
          "represent",
          "represent"
        ],
        [
          "beforehand",
          "beforehand"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "often in a Biblical context",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often in a Biblical context) To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand."
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "zagatvam predvaritelno",
          "sense": "show ahead of time",
          "word": "загатвам предварително"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "show ahead of time",
          "word": "préfigurer"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To predict or foresee."
      ],
      "id": "en-prefigure-en-verb-VU0HChO0",
      "links": [
        [
          "predict",
          "predict"
        ],
        [
          "foresee",
          "foresee"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹiːfɪɡjɚ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-prefigure.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/10/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/10/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "presage"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "portend"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "forereckon"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "foreshadow"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "announce"
    }
  ],
  "word": "prefigure"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "prefiguren"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English prefiguren",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "praefigurare"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin praefigurare",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "prefigures",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "prefigure (plural prefigures)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005, Leerom Medovoi, Rebels: Youth and the Cold War Origins of Identity, page 293:",
          "text": "Quite different is the way in which the tomboy girled the rebel narrative. In recent years, queer theorists have taken a deep interest in the tomboy as a prefigure for the butch dyke.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, C. S. Shapley, Studies in French Poetry of the Fifteenth Century, page 5:",
          "text": "In his influential commentary (the Moralia) Gregory the Great interpreted the protagonist typologically as a prefigure of Christ and of the Church persecuted.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "That which prefigures or appears to predict; a harbinger."
      ],
      "id": "en-prefigure-en-noun-vFJI7PPJ",
      "links": [
        [
          "harbinger",
          "harbinger"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹiːfɪɡjɚ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-prefigure.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/10/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav.mp3",
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    }
  ],
  "word": "prefigure"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with French translations"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "prefigurement"
    }
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  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "prefiguren"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English prefiguren",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "praefigurare"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin praefigurare",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "prefigures",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "prefiguring",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "prefigured",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "prefigured",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "prefigure (third-person singular simple present prefigures, present participle prefiguring, simple past and past participle prefigured)",
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    }
  ],
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
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        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2018 September 29, Roger Burrows, “On Neoreaction”, in The Sociological Review Magazine:",
          "text": "Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, all prefigure NRx urban futures.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "show",
          "show"
        ],
        [
          "suggest",
          "suggest"
        ],
        [
          "represent",
          "represent"
        ],
        [
          "beforehand",
          "beforehand"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "often in a Biblical context",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(often in a Biblical context) To show or suggest ahead of time; to represent beforehand."
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To predict or foresee."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "predict",
          "predict"
        ],
        [
          "foresee",
          "foresee"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹiːfɪɡjɚ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-prefigure.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/10/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav.mp3",
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    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "presage"
    },
    {
      "word": "portend"
    },
    {
      "word": "forereckon"
    },
    {
      "word": "foreshadow"
    },
    {
      "word": "announce"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "zagatvam predvaritelno",
      "sense": "show ahead of time",
      "word": "загатвам предварително"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "show ahead of time",
      "word": "préfigurer"
    }
  ],
  "word": "prefigure"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with French translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "prefiguren"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English prefiguren",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "praefigurare"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin praefigurare",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English prefiguren, from Latin praefigurare, from figurare (“to shape, picture”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "prefigures",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "prefigure (plural prefigures)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
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        {
          "ref": "2005, Leerom Medovoi, Rebels: Youth and the Cold War Origins of Identity, page 293:",
          "text": "Quite different is the way in which the tomboy girled the rebel narrative. In recent years, queer theorists have taken a deep interest in the tomboy as a prefigure for the butch dyke.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, C. S. Shapley, Studies in French Poetry of the Fifteenth Century, page 5:",
          "text": "In his influential commentary (the Moralia) Gregory the Great interpreted the protagonist typologically as a prefigure of Christ and of the Church persecuted.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "That which prefigures or appears to predict; a harbinger."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "harbinger",
          "harbinger"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹiːfɪɡjɚ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-prefigure.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/10/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-prefigure.wav.mp3",
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    }
  ],
  "word": "prefigure"
}

Download raw JSONL data for prefigure meaning in English (5.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.