characteristic of or relating to the human state or time before the Fall
prelapsarian innocence
prelapsarian in American English
(ˌprilæpˈsɛəriən)
adjective
1. Theology
occurring before the Fall
the prelapsarian innocence of Eden
2.
characteristic of or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period
a prelapsarian youth
Word origin
[1875–80; pre- + -lapsarian, as in infralapsarian,supralapsarian]This word is first recorded in the period 1875–80. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Diaspora, hat trick, musical chairs, neoclassic, weekendpre- is a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “before”(preclude; prevent); it is applied freely as a prefix, with the meanings “prior to,” “in advance of,”“early,” “beforehand,” “before,” “in front of,” and with other figurative meanings(preschool; prewar; prepay; preoral; prefrontal)
Examples of 'prelapsarian' in a sentence
prelapsarian
A yearning for its own prelapsarian state was built into punk's ethos.
The Times Literary Supplement (2018)
In happier, prelapsarian times he would have inveighed against their hypocrisy.
The Times Literary Supplement (2015)
There are two blissful, muddied, prelapsarian moments when it isn't occupying your mind.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It was as if pure form represented something innocent and unspoilt; a prelapsarian state.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
Neo-illiberals belong to a venerable strand of nirvana thinking: the prelapsarian school.
The Times Literary Supplement (2016)
This would have taken us back to that prelapsarian state of regional rail companies.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Nevertheless, the road opened amid a kind of prelapsarian optimism.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Remember that prelapsarian age when you gave things your undivided attention?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The elves constantly hark back to an earlier, prelapsarian world.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Maybe heatwaves worked better in this prelapsarian era, for today they are nothing but ghastly.