propheses

Propheses is a rarely used English term that refers to multiple instances of prophecy, or to the plural form of prophecy. In modern English, the standard and widely accepted plural is prophecies. Propheses appears mainly in older, regional, or nonstandard texts and is usually regarded as archaic, marginal, or a misspelling. When encountered, it is typically clarified or corrected in contemporary editions.

Etymology and usage: The word shares its origin with prophecy, tracing back through Latin prophetia or prophetia from Greek prophētia, meaning foretelling. The conventional plural form in contemporary English is prophecies, formed by replacing the ending -y with -ies. The form propheses can be confused with hypotheses, a different term meaning tentative explanations or educated guesses.

Cultural and textual context: Propheses may appear in translations of ancient or religious writings where translators preserved older spellings or dialectal forms. In scholarly editing and modern writing, editors usually standardize to prophecies to avoid ambiguity and maintain consistency with standard English usage.

Overall, propheses is considered obscure in everyday language and is not commonly used in scholarly or public discourse compared with prophecies.