prostration

English

Etymology

From Latin prōstrātiō, from prōstrātus, past participle of prōsternō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹɒsˈtɹeɪʃən/

Noun

prostration (countable and uncountable, plural prostrations)

1. The act or condition of prostrating oneself (lying face-down), as a sign of humility.
2. A part of the ordination of Catholic and Orthodox priests, in which the ordinand lies prostrate in a gesture of submission to the will of God.

   The ordination ceremony includes a variety of rituals, rich in meaning and history, e.g., the prostration, laying on of hands, anointing of hands, giving of the chalice and paten, and sign of peace. — Diocese of Rochester, NY

3. The state of lying face down (prone).
4. The condition of being prostrated, as from heat; complete loss of strength.
   • 1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case”, in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 135:

     I slept after the prostration of the day, with a stringent and profound slumber which not even the nightmares that wrung me could avail to break.

5. A reverential bow performed in Middle Eastern cultures.

   Synonym: sujud

   • 2018 March 1, Tusdiq Din, “Mohamed Salah: Is Liverpool Striker’s Success Improving Engagement with Muslim Fans?”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Their faith can be seen in their mannerisms on the pitch – cupping hands in silent pre-kick-off prayer or prostration after hitting the back of the net.

Derived terms

• heat prostration
• nervous prostration

Anagrams

• troop trains

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɔs.tʁa.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

prostration f (plural prostrations)

1. prostration

Further reading

• “prostration”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.