English

Noun

foretale ‎(plural foretales)

1. An account or telling given as an introduction to a larger body of work; prologue; a prior or previous recollection or account of events
   • 1995, Alice Kane, ‎Sean Kane, The Dreamer Awakes:

     The first three paragraphs of the translation are a condensed paraphrase of the first foretale, which tells of the birth of Aengus and how he obtains Etain for Midir by clearing twelve plains and creating twelve rivers (only nine are named in the story) [...]

   • 1998, Sean Kane, Wisdom of the Mythtellers:

     Mentioned in the ancient lists as Prime Stories, these short narratives were evidently foretales (remscéla) to the saga of Conaire Mor, the Great King of Tara, regarded by several clans as their ancestor.

   • 2006, Maureen O'Rourke Murphy, ‎James MacKillop, An Irish Literature Reader:

     The final foretale is a story of magical transformation with comic undertones, explaining how the two great bulls, the Brown and the Whitehorned, came to be.

   • 2011, Patricia Crommett, The Song of the Faery:

     “Dam Joy told me that after Gormaak recited the Centauri tale of the Black and White, Fro Clear recalled an obscure foretale told to him by his grandam.

   • 2011, Giles Foden, Turbulence:

     Filled with these foretales of gloom, I climbed back up the cliff with Yates to the Nissen hut to join him and Stagg for examination of the incoming Friday charts.

2. An account given in advance; prediction
   • 1987, Mervin Daub, Canadian Economic Forecasting: In a World Where All's Unsure:

     One can gain further insight by looking at what “foretales/ prophecies” are, and how they are made. It is interesting to consider the very terms themselves, and their evolution through time.

See also

• aftertale