Definition of "protevangelium" [protevangelium]

• The earliest announcement of the gospel: referring to Gen. iii. 15. Also called protogospel. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "This sacred rite was instituted in connection with the _protevangelium_ given to our first parents; it was diffused among the nations by tradition, and has been kept alive as a general, and, indeed, almost universal observance, by that deep sense of sin, and consciousness of guilt, and personal urgency of the need of a reconciliation, which are so clearly displayed in Grecian mythology."