English

Etymology

Latin protasis, from Greek προτασις, from προτεινειν ‘put forward, tender’, from προ− + τεινειν ‘stretch’.

Pronunciation

• /'prɒtəsɪs/

Noun

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

   • 1922: It doubles itself in the middle of his life, reflects itself in another, repeats itself, protasis, epitasis, catastasis, catastrophe. — James Joyce, Ulysses

2. the antecedent in a conditional sentence

   example: In, "I will be coming if this weather holds up", "this weather holds up" is the protasis

Synonyms

antecedent, conditional, hypothesis

See also

• apodosis
• epitasis
• catastasis
• catastrophe

In drama, a protasis is the introductory part of a play, usually its first act. It was coined by the fourth-century Roman grammarian Aelius Donatus. He defined a play as being made up of three separate parts, the other two being epitasis and catastrophe.