supine

[adjective soo-pahyn; noun soo-pahyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR supine ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

Can be confusedprone prostate prostrate supine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for supine

decumbent, flat, horizontal, level, procumbent, prone, prostrate, recumbent, do-nothing, dormant, dull, idle, indolent, inert, lackadaisical, lax, lazy, lethargic, listless

Examples from the Web for supine

Contemporary Examples of supine

In effect, an overreaching administration and a supine FISC are ginning up a secret constitution.
The Secret FISA Court Must Go
Jennifer Granick, Christopher Sprigman
July 24, 2013
On closer examination, this is not the hand of a supine victim.
The Crime of Kufr Qaddoum: An EmergencyStandWithDavidMonitor Animal Rights Division Expose
Eli Valley
March 29, 2012

Historical Examples of supine

For some time after she had been seized by Roderic, she had remained unconscious and supine.
Imogen
William Godwin
Supine, routed we rest; and above all, above the universe, is the silence of the Shadow.
Melomaniacs
James Huneker
He began to sink slowly back into the blankets, supine and inert.
Nicanor - Teller of Tales
C. Bryson Taylor
Erect or supine, these colossal statues were strewn all over the island.
Greener Than You Think
Ward Moore
One may be melancholy by the sea, but never morbid or supine.
Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No 3, September 1863
Various

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for supine

adj.

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.

supine in Medicine

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.