position English · revision 2542

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374 (Chaucer)|origins=la pōnere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pəˈzɪʃ.ən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|posicioun]], [[bor|fro|posicion|t=position, supposition]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and directly from [[la|positiō|t=a placing, setting; situation; affirmation]] (accusative [[m|la|positiōnem]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) from [[m|la|positus]], the past participle of [[m|la|pōnere|t=to put, place]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Merriam-Webster and Klein explain ''pōnere'' as a contraction of Old Latin [[m|la|*posinere]], from [[m|la|po-|t=away]] and [[m|la|sinere|t=to leave, let]].^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) The SOED notes that the Latin word rendered Greek [[grc|θέσις|tr=thésis]].^(SOED 2002) It is related to [[posit]], [[pose]], [[compose]], [[deposit]] and [[site]].^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In logic and philosophy, the laying down of a proposition or thesis: about 1374,^(OED 1989) or about 1380 in Chaucer's ''Boethius''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A proposition laid down, a statement, is from about 1500.^(OED 1989) The place where a person or thing is, location, came later in Middle English,^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) and the arrangement of things, especially in a particular order, is from 1623.^(OED 1989) In arithmetic, ''position'' was a method of finding an unknown quantity by assuming a value, from 1551.^(OED 1989) A posture of the body is recorded by 1703.^(OED 1989) A person's mental attitude on a question is from 1905.^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to take up a position” from the 1670s,^(Etymonline) and “to put in a particular place”, now the usual sense, from 1817,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) with “to determine the position of, locate” from 1881.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – the laying down of a proposition.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1500 – a statement, thesis.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1551 – in arithmetic.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1623 – arrangement, placing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1670s – verb, to take up a position.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1703 – a posture.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1817 – verb, to put in place.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1881 – verb, to locate.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1905 – a mental attitude.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A place or location; the right place: ''in position''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An area occupied by troops for a strategic purpose.^(AHD)

+ # The way something is placed; a [[posture]] of the body.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A situation in relation to circumstances: ''in a difficult position''.^(AHD)

+ # A point of view or attitude on a question.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Social standing or rank.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A post of employment; a [[job]].^(AHD)

+ # ''(sports)'' The place of a player in a team.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put in place.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To find the position of; to locate.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[positional]]

+ * [[positionally]]

+ * [[positioner]]

+ * [[positionless]]

+ * [[contraposition]]

+ * [[extraposition]]

+ * [[juxtaposition]]

+ * [[malposition]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pose]]

+ * [[posit]]

+ * [[positive]]

+ * [[compose]]

+ * [[deposit]]

+ * [[site]]

+ * [[component]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}