protasis

noun /ˈpɹɒtəsɪs/

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

   It doubles itself in the middle of his life, reflects itself in another, repeats itself, protasis, epitasis, catastasis, catastrophe.

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

   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.

Where it comes from

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

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry protasis (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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