supine
[ adjective soo-pahyn; noun soo-pahyn ]
/ adjective suˈpaɪn; noun ˈsu paɪn /
adjective
lying on the back, face or front upward.
inactive, passive, or inert, especially from indolence or indifference.
(of the hand) having the palm upward.
noun
(in Latin) a noun form derived from verbs, appearing only in the accusative and the dative-ablative, as dictū in mirābile dictū, “wonderful to say.”
(in English) the simple infinitive of a verb preceded by to.
an analogous form in some other language.
RELATED WORDS
decumbent, flat, horizontal, level, procumbent, prone, prostrate, recumbent, do-nothing, dormant, dull, idle, indolent, inert, lackadaisical, lax, lazy, lethargic, listless
Nearby words
superwoman, supinate, supination, supinator, supinator muscle, supine, supinely, suplex, supp., supp. rev. stat., suppawn
Origin of supine
First recorded in 1490–1500, supine is from the Latin word supīnus lying face up, inactive
Related formssu·pine·ly, adverbsu·pine·ness, nounun·su·pine, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for supine
British Dictionary definitions for supine
supine
adjective (suːˈpaɪn, sjuː-, ˈsuːpaɪn, ˈsjuː-)
lying or resting on the back with the face, palm, etc, upwards
displaying no interest or animation; lethargic
noun (ˈsuːpaɪn, ˈsjuː-)
grammar a noun form derived from a verb in Latin, often used to express purpose with verbs of motionAbbreviation: sup
Derived Formssupinely, adverbsupineness, noun
Word Origin for supine
C15: from Latin supīnus related to sub under, up; (in grammatical sense) from Latin verbum supīnum supine word (the reason for this use is unknown)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for supine
supine
c.1500, from Latin supinus "turned or thrown backwards, inactive, indolent," related to sub "under" (see sub-). The grammatical use for "Latin verbal noun formed from the past participle stem" is from Late Latin supinum verbum "supine verb," perhaps so called because, though furnished with a noun case ending, it "falls back" on the verb.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for supine
supine
[ sōō-pīn′, sōō′pīn′ ]
adj.
Lying on the back; having the face upward.
Having the palm of the hand or sole of the foot upward.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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