appose

American  

[uh-pohz] / əˈpoʊz /

verb (used with object)

apposed, apposing

1. to place side by side, as two things; place next to; juxtapose.

2. to put or apply (one thing) to or near to another.

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appose British  

/ əˈpəʊz /

verb

1. to place side by side or near to each other

2. (usually foll by to) to place (something) near or against another thing

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Other Word Forms

• apposability noun
• apposable adjective
• apposer noun
• nonapposable adjective
• unapposable adjective

Etymology

Origin of appose

1585–95; by analogy with compose, propose, etc. < Latin appōnere to place near, set alongside, equivalent to ap- ap- ¹ + pōnere to place

Example Sentences

Last week, as the bandages came off after a minor operation, Terry could appose his thumb well enough to hold his fork in his left hand.

From Time Magazine Archive

Nowe ye appose me, kepe the c�maundementes quod he, that is a payne in dede.

From Two Dyaloges (c. 1549) by Erasmus, Desiderius

In a will of James I.'s reign, the curate of a parish is to appose the children of a charity-school.

From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 9 by Various

"Ristampa del Testo di Crusca procurata da B. Gamba il quale vi appose piccole note a pie di pagina."

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2 by Yule, Henry

It seems to be abbreviated from the old verb "to appose;" which meant, to set a task, to subject to an examination or interrogatory; and hence to perplex, to embarrass, to puzzle.

From Notes and Queries, Number 66, February 1, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Bell, George