prone

See also: prôné, prône, and Prone

English

prone and supine position

Etymology

From Middle English prone, proone, proon, from Latin prōnus (turned forward, bent or inclined), from prō (forward).

Pronunciation

Adjective

prone (comparative proner or more prone, superlative pronest or most prone)

  1. Lying face downward.
    Synonym: prostrate
    Antonym: supine
    prone position
    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326:
      But they had already discovered that he could be bullied, and they had it their own way; and presently Selwyn lay prone upon the nursery floor, impersonating a ladrone while pleasant shivers chased themselves over Drina, whom he was stalking.
  2. Of the hand, forearm or foot: turned facing away from the body; with the thumb inward or big toe downward.
    the hand is in the prone position typically when using a keyboard; and the forearm is then also in the prone position; when the foot is resting on the inner side of the sole, it is in the prone position.
  3. Having a downward inclination or slope.
  4. (figuratively) Predisposed, liable, inclined.
    prone to failure
    • 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 141”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. [], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, OCLC 216596634:
      Nor are mine ears with thy tongue's tune delighted; / Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone, / Nor taste, nor smell, desire to be invited / To any sensual feast with thee alone: []
    • 2019 November 20, “Thanathorn: Thai opposition leader disqualified as MP”, in BBC, BBC, retrieved 2019-11-21:
      Future Forward came third in the elections with 6.2 million votes, and Mr Thanathorn has since emerged as the main voice of opposition to the military-dominated government. He has been a strong critic of the powerful army's role in coup-prone Thai politics.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

prone (third-person singular simple present prones, present participle proning, simple past and past participle proned)

  1. (medicine) To place in a prone position, to place face down.

Further reading

Anagrams


Italian

Adjective

prone

  1. feminine plural of prono

Anagrams


Latin

Adjective

prōne

  1. vocative masculine singular of prōnus

Adverb

prōnē (comparative prōnius, superlative prōnissimē)

  1. leaning forward
  2. prone

References

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