In early-modern descriptions, hysteron proteron — from the Greek for hysteros (later or latter) placed first and protos (the former or first) put after or last — was inseparable from what was known as the ‘preposterous’, a reversal of ‘post’ for ‘pre’, behind for before, back for front, second for first, and end or sequel for beginning. Susenbrotus's influential description of this rhetorical figure, in 1540, for example, made it a synonym for praeposteratio, from posterus (after or behind) and prae (in front or before). In England, Puttenham used ‘Preposterous’ itself as his formal English equivalent for this Greek rhetorical term, ranging ‘Histeron proteron, or the Preposterous’ under ‘Figures Auricular working by disorder’, in a chapter devoted to the general category of Hiperbaton, or disorders of speech. Describing it as that particular form of ‘disordered speach, when ye misplace your words or clauses and set that before which should be behind, and e converso’, he remarks that ‘we call it in English proverbe, the cart before the horse’, and while ‘the Greeks call it Histeron proteron, we name it the Preposterous’.