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supine

adj
/ˈs(j)uːpaɪn/UK/ˌsuˈpaɪn/US

Etymology

The adjective is borrowed from Latin supīnus, from *sup- (see sub (“under”)) + -īnus (“of, pertaining to”). The word is cognate with Catalan supí, Italian supino, Old French sovin, Middle French souvin, Anglo-Norman supin, Old Occitan sobin, sopin, Portuguese supino, Spanish supino. Partly displaced Old English upweard (“upward, supine”), whence Modern English upward. The noun is from Late Middle English supin (“supine of a Latin verb”) or Middle French supin (“(grammar) supine”), from Latin supīnum, (ellipsis of supīnum verbum (“supine verb”)), from supīnus; further etymology above.

  1. derived from supīnum
  2. derived from supin
  3. inherited from supin
  4. borrowed from supīnus

Definitions

  1. Lying on its back.

    • Poor Pnin had come down the last steps on his back. He lay supine for a moment, his eyes moving to and fro.

  2. Turned facing toward the body or upward

    Turned facing toward the body or upward: with the thumb outward (palm up), or with the big toe raised relative to the little toe.

    • when one is washing one’s face, the hand is in the supine position; and then the forearm is also in the supine position; when the foot is resting on the outer side of the sole, it is in the supine position

  3. Reluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness

    Reluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness; apathetic or passive towards something.

    • Such corruption is commonplace in a world of supine civil servants and underfunded ministries.
    • [W]hen Man was fallen, and had abandoned his primitive Innocence, [...] he became puſillanimous, and was eaſily ruffled with every little Paſſion within: ſupine, and as openly expoſed to any Temptation or Aſſault from without.
  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. Inclining or leaning backward

      Inclining or leaning backward; inclined, sloping.

      • But if the Vine / On riſing Ground be plac'd, or Hills ſupine, / Extend thy looſe Battalions largely wide, / Opening thy Ranks and Files on either Side: [...]

    2. In Latin and other languages

      In Latin and other languages: a type of verbal noun used in the ablative and accusative cases, which shares the same stem as the passive participle.

      • And here also you may observ, that the syllable which is doubled in the Preterperfect tens is not doubled in the Supines, as totondi to clip, make's tonsum: cecídi to beat, cæsum: […]

    3. In Swedish, Faroese, Icelandic and Old Norse

      In Swedish, Faroese, Icelandic and Old Norse: a verb form that combines with an inflection of ha/hafa/hava to form the present perfect and pluperfect tenses.

    4. (obsolete terminology) The 'to'-prefixed infinitive in English or other Germanic…

      (obsolete terminology) The 'to'-prefixed infinitive in English or other Germanic languages, so named because the infinitive was regarded as a verbal noun and the 'to'-prefixed form of it was seen as the dative form of the verbal noun; the full infinitive.

The neighborhood

Derived

nonsupine, non-supine, semisupine, semi-supine, supinate, supinated, supination, supinator, supine hypotensive syndrome, supinely, supineness, supinity, supine tense

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for supine. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA