A resting position in which a person lies facing up, on their back. This is the most common position in which most patients lie during surgery, as well as transport on ambulances and otherwise. It's also good for patients who have trouble breathing at night, as opposed to lying in the prone position.

The Supine position is great for having acupuncture done.

Latin Grammar: The Supine

I. Cases
II. Uses
III. Importance
IV. The Supine with iri

I. Cases

Accusative case: 4th principal part with -um ending (Ex: portatum, doctum, dictum, captum, auditum)
Ablative case: 4th principal part with -u ending (Ex: portatu, doctu, dictu, captu, auditu)

II. Uses

Accusative case: used with verbs to express the purpose of a movement (Ex: pueri exercitum cucurrerunt | The boys ran in order to practice)
Ablative case: used with particular adjectives (Ex: Mirabile dictu! | Wondrous to say!)

III. Importance

Supines help in listing the principal parts of a verb. The principal parts of a verb are listed as follows: (the first person singular present form of the verb), (the infinitive of the verb), (the first person singular perfect form of the verb), (the supine of the verb). (Ex: "to order": iubeo, iubere, iussi, iussum | 'iussum' is the supine of this verb)

IV. The Supine with iri

The accusative supine can be used with iri to form a future passive infinitive. (Ex: pater dicit domum factum iri | The father says that the home will be built)

Sources: A Student's Latin Grammar, Cambridge University Press. This book is great.

Su*pine" (?), a. [L. supinus, akin to sub under, super above. Cf. Sub-, Super-.]

1.

Lying on the back, or with the face upward; -- opposed to prone.

2.

Leaning backward, or inclining with exposure to the sun; sloping; inclined.

If the vine On rising ground be placed, or hills supine. Dryden.

3.

Negligent; heedless; indolent; listless.

He became pusillanimous and supine, and openly exposed to any temptation. Woodward.

Syn. -- Negligent; heedless; indolent; thoughtless; inattentive; listless; careless; drowsy.

-- Su*pine"ly, adv. -- Su*pine"ness, n.

 

© Webster 1913.


Su"pine (?), n. [L. supinum (sc. verbum), from supinus bent or thrown backward, perhaps so called because, although furnished with substantive case endings, it rests or falls back, as it were, on the verb: cf. F. supin.] Lat. Gram.

A verbal noun; or (according to C.F.Becker), a case of the infinitive mood ending in -um and -u, that in -um being sometimes called the former supine, and that in -u the latter supine.

 

© Webster 1913.

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