prostrate

See also: prostate

English

Etymology

From Latin prōstrātus, past participle of prōsternere (“to prostrate”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɒstɹeɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɑstɹeɪt/
• Hyphenation: pros‧trate

Adjective

prostrate (not comparable)

1. Lying flat, face-down.

   Synonym: prone

   Antonym: supine

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Prostrate fall / Before him reverent, and there confess / Humbly our faults.

   • 1945, Sir Winston Churchill, VE Day speech from House of Commons:

     Finally almost the whole world was combined against the evil-doers, who are now prostrate before us.

2. (figuratively) Emotionally devastated.
3. Physically incapacitated from environmental exposure or debilitating disease.

   He was prostrate from the extreme heat.

4. (botany) Trailing on the ground; procumbent.

Translations

lying flat, facedown

• Bulgarian: легнал (bg) (legnal), проснат (bg) (prosnat)
• Czech: ležící na břiše
• Finnish: mahallaan
• German: niedergestreckt (de)
• Greek: πρηνής (el) m or f (prinís)
• Hungarian: hason fekvő
• Maori: taitakoto, tāpapa
• Norwegian: prostrert
• Russian: распростёртый (ru) (rasprostjórtyj), лежа́щий ничко́м (ležáščij ničkóm)
• Spanish: postrado (es), acostado boca abajo
• Welsh: ar eich hyd, ar eich gorwedd

emotionally devastated

• Finnish: lyöty (fi), maassa (fi)

physically incapacitated from environmental exposure or debilitating disease

• Finnish: toimintakyvytön

botany: trailing on the ground; procumbent — see procumbent

Verb

prostrate (third-person singular simple present prostrates, present participle prostrating, simple past and past participle prostrated)

2. (often reflexive) To lie flat or face-down.
3. (also figurative) To throw oneself down in submission.
   • 1922, Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization‎^[1], page 228:

     Those who had the privilege of approaching him, had to prostrate themselves before him in profound humility […]

4. To cause to lie down, to flatten.
   • 1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XIV, page 175:

     How many of these mighty pines were to be prostrated under that approaching tempest!

5. (figuratively) To overcome or overpower.
   • 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC:

     Why this very minute she's prostrated with grief.

Usage notes

• Prostrate and prostate are often confused, in spelling if not in meaning.

Related terms

• prostration

Translations

to lie flat or face-down

• Arabic: سَجَدَ (ar) (sajada)
• Bulgarian: лежа по очи (leža po oči)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 趴 (zh) (pā), 平臥／平卧 (zh) (píngwò)

• Dutch: zich prosterneren
• Finnish: maata pitkällään (flat), maata kasvoillaan (facedown), maata vatsallaan
• French: prosterner (fr)
• Greek: κείτομαι μπρούμυτα (keítomai broúmyta), μπρουμυτίζω (broumytízo)
• Indonesian: bersujud (id)
• Japanese: 平伏す (ja) (ひれふす, hirefusu)
• Malay: telangkup
• Maori: taitakoto, tukupapa, tāpapa
• Norwegian: prostrere
• Polish: bić pokłony impf
• Portuguese: prostrar (pt)
• Russian: лежа́ть ничко́м impf (ležátʹ ničkóm)
• Spanish: prostrarse, postrarse (es)
• Vietnamese: nằm úp, nằm sấp (vi)
• Yoruba: dọ̀bálẹ̀

to throw oneself down in submission

• Arabic: سَجَدَ (ar) (sajada)
• Bulgarian: унижавам се (unižavam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 匍匐 (zh) (púfú), 伏地 (zh) (fúdì)

• Dutch: ter aarde werpen
• Finnish: heittäytyä maahan
• German: niederwerfen (de), erniedrigen (de)
• Greek: πέφτω μπρούμυτα (péfto broúmyta), μπρουμυτίζω (broumytízo)

  Ancient Greek: προσκυνέω (proskunéō)

• Malay: bersujud (ms)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: legge seg flat

• Portuguese: prostrar-se
• Russian: па́дать ниц impf (pádatʹ nic), пасть ниц pf (pastʹ nic)
• Slovak: zvaliť sa
• Spanish: prostrarse, postrarse (es)

to cause to lie down

• Bulgarian: повалям (bg) (povaljam), просвам (bg) (prosvam)
• Finnish: kaataa (fi), kumota (fi)
• Greek: υποκλίνομαι (el) (ypoklínomai), προσκυνώ (el) (proskynó)
• Irish:

  Old Irish: fo·álgi

• Latin: prosternō
• Portuguese: prostrar (pt)
• Russian: поверга́ть ниц impf (povergátʹ nic), пове́ргнуть ниц pf (povérgnutʹ nic)
• Slovak: zvaliť
• Spanish: prostrar, postrar (es)

See also

• kowtow

Anagrams

• Perrottas

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

prostrate

1. inflection of prostrare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

prostrate f pl

1. feminine plural of prostrato

Latin

Participle

prōstrāte

1. vocative masculine singular of prōstrātus