supine
[adjective soo-pahyn; noun soo-pahyn]
- lying on the back, face or front upward.
- inactive, passive, or inert, especially from indolence or indifference.
- (of the hand) having the palm upward.
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- (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.
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Origin of supine
First recorded in 1490–1500, supine is from the Latin word supīnus lying face up, inactive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for supine
Contemporary Examples
In effect, an overreaching administration and a supine FISC are ginning up a secret constitution.
On closer examination, this is not the hand of a supine victim.
The Crime of Kufr Qaddoum: An EmergencyStandWithDavidMonitor Animal Rights Division ExposeEli Valley
March 29, 2012
Historical Examples
For some time after she had been seized by Roderic, she had remained unconscious and supine.
ImogenWilliam Godwin
Supine, routed we rest; and above all, above the universe, is the silence of the Shadow.
MelomaniacsJames Huneker
He began to sink slowly back into the blankets, supine and inert.
Nicanor - Teller of TalesC. Bryson Taylor
Erect or supine, these colossal statues were strewn all over the island.
Greener Than You ThinkWard Moore
One may be melancholy by the sea, but never morbid or supine.
supine
- lying or resting on the back with the face, palm, etc, upwards
- displaying no interest or animation; lethargic
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- grammar a noun form derived from a verb in Latin, often used to express purpose with verbs of motionAbbreviation: sup
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Word Origin
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
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
supine
(sōō-pīn′, sōō′pīn′)- Lying on the back; having the face upward.
- Having the palm of the hand or sole of the foot upward.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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