SKIP TO CONTENT

hysteron proteron

/ˌhɪstəˈrɑn ˌprɑdəˈrɑn/
IPA guide

Hysteron proteron is a figure of speech in which you put the last thing first and the first last, reversing the logical order. Whenever you say, "I'm putting on my shoes and socks," you're using hysteron proteron (unless you actually put your shoes on first!).

This rhetorical device gets its name from a Greek phrase that means "later earlier" or "the latter put as the former." When you use a hysteron proteron, you switch things up, usually to emphasize something (it's the shoes that are important, although the socks actually come first). If you're furious at your brother, you might use hysteron proteron by exclaiming, "I am going to murder him, and then I'm going to make him give me back my laptop!"

Definitions of hysteron proteron
  1. noun
    reversal of normal order of two words or sentences etc. (as in `bred and born')
    see moresee less
    type of:
    rhetorical device
    a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)
  2. noun
    the logical fallacy of using as a true premise a proposition that is yet to be proved
    see moresee less
    type of:
    logical fallacy
    a fallacy in logical argumentation
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘hysteron proteron'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family