Learn Greek › C1 › προλαμβάνω
προλαμβάνω
to catch something in time (to manage to do it before it is too late) /pro.lam.ˈva.no/
verbC1#4053 most common
Also: to prevent, to forestall, to anticipate
Example sentences
Προλαμβάνω να πιω τον καφέ μου κάθε πρωί.
I manage to drink my coffee every morning before I have to go.
Δεν προλαμβάνει να ετοιμαστεί πριν φύγει το τρένο.
He doesn't manage to get ready before the train leaves.
Αν βιαστούμε, θα προλάβουμε το τρένο.
If we hurry, we will catch the train in time.
Οι γιατροί συνιστούν τακτικές εξετάσεις για να προλαμβάνουμε σοβαρές ασθένειες.
Doctors recommend regular checkups so that we can prevent serious diseases.
Η κυβέρνηση έλαβε έγκαιρα μέτρα για να προλάβει την εξάπλωση της επιδημίας.
The government took timely measures to forestall the spread of the epidemic.
Αν οι αρχές δεν είχαν προλάβει να εκκενώσουν την περιοχή, οι απώλειες θα ήταν πολύ μεγαλύτερες.
If the authorities had not managed to evacuate the area in time, the losses would have been far greater.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | προλαμβάνω | πρόλαβα | θα προλάβω |
| 2sg | προλαμβάνεις | πρόλαβες | θα προλάβεις |
| 3sg | προλαμβάνει | πρόλαβε | θα προλάβει |
| 1pl | προλαμβάνουμε | προλάβαμε | θα προλάβουμε |
| 2pl | προλαμβάνετε | προλάβατε | θα προλάβετε |
| 3pl | προλαμβάνουν | πρόλαβαν | θα προλάβουν |
Word family
πρόληψηprevention
προληπτικόςpreventive, precautionary
λαμβάνωto take, receiveλήψηtaking, receiptαναλαμβάνωto undertake, take onEtymology
Προλαμβάνω joins the prefix προ- ("before, in advance") to λαμβάνω ("to take, to seize, to receive"). The literal sense is "to take beforehand," which shifted to mean getting ahead of an event: catching it in time or heading off a problem before it grows. Modern Greek keeps both strands: the everyday sense of managing something in time, and the more formal sense of preventing or forestalling, common in medical and administrative language.
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