supine
- lying on the back, face or front upward.
- inactive, passive, or inert, especially from indolence or indifference.
- (of the hand) having the palm upward.
- (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
Examples from the Web for supinely
Historical Examples of supinely
Weakly, supinely, slavishly, America was submitting to British insolence.
The MessengerElizabeth Robins
Why forget so supinely His failures to remedy the easily remediable?
Damn!Henry Louis Mencken
He had not the least intention of supinely yielding to her foolish belief—it could not be other than that—that she disliked him.
The EddyClarence L. Cullen
For weeks we have endured, supinely on our backs, the tyranny of Mrs. Van Asterbilt, the matron of this House.
The Eternal BoyOwen Johnson
The Chinese had supinely permitted this dangerous power to grow up among their tributaries on the north.
Historic Tales, Vol. 12 (of 15)Charles Morris
supine
- lying or resting on the back with the face, palm, etc, upwards
- displaying no interest or animation; lethargic
- grammar a noun form derived from a verb in Latin, often used to express purpose with verbs of motionAbbreviation: sup
Word Origin for supine
Word Origin and History for supinely
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.
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.