supine
/ˌsuˈpaɪn/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.42 in modern English
Meaning
adj
Of the hand, forearm or foot, turned facing toward the body or upward: with the thumb outward (palm up), or with the big toe raised relative to the little toe.
adj
Reluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness; apathetic or passive towards something.
noun
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.
noun
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.
noun
(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.
Example Sentences
- "Poor Pnin had come down the last steps on his back. He lay supine for a moment, his eyes moving to and fro."
- "Data, in part previously reported by this laboratory (2, 9), on the effects of mannitol loads in supine subjects, and of saline infusions in both supine and standing subjects, have also been used in the construction of Table III and Figures 1 and 2."
- "Posterior displacement of the sternum can produce a deformity of the heart, particularly anterior indentation of the right ventricle. [...] The physical work capacity in pectus excavatum at a given heart rate was significantly lower in the sitting than the supine position."
- "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"
- "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."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: supīnus, supin, supīnum
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌsuˈpaɪn/
- British English: /ˈs(j)uːpaɪn/