What is "protofeminism"

n. A philosophical tradition anticipating modern feminist concepts before their arrival.

The term protofeminist is sometimes applied to a person in a philosophical tradition anticipating modern feminist concepts, who lived in an era when the term "feminist" was unknown, that is, prior to the 20th century. The precise use of the term is disputed, as 18th-century feminism and 19th-century feminism are subsumed under "feminism."