prone English · revision 15109

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1408|origins=la prō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /prəʊn/, US /proʊn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|prōnus|t=bent forward, inclined to]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) perhaps from a lost adverb formed from [[m|la|prō|t=forward]] (see [[pro-]]) with the ending seen in [[m|la|īnfernus]] and [[m|la|externus]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Inclined or disposed to something: 1408, as proone, in the Wycliffe Bible, in Barnhart; about 1400 in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Lying face downwards is first recorded in 1578,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and of a body part turned downwards from 1646.^(OED 1989) Lying flat in general is from 1697; the OED, as quoted by Etymonline, calls this proper only for things without an upper and under side.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Figuratively, inclined towards what is base, it is from 1645.^(OED 1989) Pronation is from the 17th century and pronator from the 18th.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1408 – inclined, disposed.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1578 – lying face down.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1645 – grovelling (figurative).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1697 – lying flat.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Lying flat or face downwards; [[prostrate]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Having a tendency; inclined or liable.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Sloping or tending downwards.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # In a prone position.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To place in a prone position.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pronely]]

+ * [[proneness]]

+ * [[overprone]]

+ * [[semiprone]]

+ * [[accident-prone]]

+ * [[pronate]]

+ * [[pronation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pro-]]

+ * [[supine]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An older prone, a homily read in church or the place in church where notices were read (1670), is a separate word, from [[fr|prône]].^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}