hysteron proteron

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek, from ὕστερον (hústeron, “latter, arriving late”) +‎ πρότερον (próteron, “former, before”).

Noun

hysteron proteron (plural hysteron proterons)

  1. (rhetoric) A figure of speech in which a phrase that should come last is put first; hysterology.
    "He is well and lives" is a hysteron proteron.
  2. An inversion or reversal of the natural order of things.

Derived terms

  • hystero-proterize

See also

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