noun:
1. The use of a descriptive word in anticipation of the result. Example: The word hot in hot water heater.
2. The anticipation and answering of an objection or argument before it's raised. Also known as prebuttal.
3. The representation of an event before it actually happened. Example: He lost the game even before the match began.
4. The anachronistic representation of an event before its actual time. Also known as prochronism. Example: A depiction of people talking wirelessly over long distances in 18th century.
5. A literary technique in which the author drops hints of things to come. Also known as foreshadowing.
6. The return of a paroxysm of a periodic disease before its usual time or at progressively shorter intervals.