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supine

UK/ˈs(j)uːpaɪn/US/ˌsuˈpaɪn/
adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,286 of 15,258leans written

Supine means lying on your back, or failing to resist. In a supine position, a supine parliament, supine before power.

The medical sense is exact and paired with prone, which means face down, and the way to remember it is that on your spine is supine. The figurative sense is a heavy political criticism.

Definitions of supine

  1. 1adjectivesupineLying on your back, or failing to resist.C2

    “The supine parliament passed every law the dictator asked for.”

supine is a position.

Where it comes from

Latin supinus means lying face up, related to sub, under.

  1. Middle French

    supin — (grammar) supine

  2. Middle English

    supin — supine of a Latin verb

  3. Latin

    supīnus

  4. English, today

    supine

Built from

  • sub · Latin — under
  • -īnus · Latin — of, pertaining to
  • supīnum verbum · Latin — supine verb

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 upweard, 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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

supine in the wild

  • In grammar, a supine is a form of verbal noun used in some languages.

    Supine

  • Other than the supine riding position and very high speeds, street luge has little relation to its winter namesake (luge).

    Street luge

  • The hold begins with the opponent supine on the mat.

    Sharpshooter (professional wrestling)

  • One method is to have the patient lie in the supine position and lift their leg straight up while the physician places pressure on the patient's thigh.

    Psoas sign

  • The supine position () means lying horizontally, with the face and torso facing up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down.

    Supine position

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.