prone
verbEtymology From Middle English prone, proone, proon, from Latin prōnus (“turned forward, bent or inclined”), from prō (“forward”).
1
Medicine, Sciences To place in a prone position, to place face down.
- Derived terms
- prone out
prone
adjUK /pɹəʊn/ · CA, US /pɹoʊn/
Etymology From Middle English prone, proone, proon, from Latin prōnus (“turned forward, bent or inclined”), from prō (“forward”).
1
Lying face-down.
- prone position
- 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.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
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
Government, Military, Politics, Video games, War Shooting from a position while lying down.
5
Figuratively Predisposed, liable, inclined, given (to something) (most often, specifically to being befallen by an unsought bad outcome, rather than to undertaking a willful behavior or to having a happy accident).
- prone to failure
- 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: […]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:
- Antonyms
- supine
- Derived terms
- accident-prone, atheroprone, error-prone, fault-prone, flood-prone, floodprone, gossip-prone, injury-prone, overprone, pronate, pronation, -prone, prone-bone, proned, proneness, prone position, prone positioning, prone to, proning, semiprone, unprone