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Origin and history of prostrate

prostrate(adj.)

mid-14c., "lying face-down, at length on the ground" (in submission, supplication, humility, worship, etc.), from Latin prostratus, past participle of prosternere "strew in front, throw down," from pro "before, forth" (see pro-) + sternere "to spread out, lay down, stretch out" (from nasalized form of PIE root *stere- "to spread"). Figurative use is from 1590s. General sense of "laid out, knocked flat" is from 1670s.

prostrate(v.)

early 15c., prostraten, "prostrate oneself, fall down flat, bow with the face to the ground" (in humility or submission), from prostrate (adj.). Transitive sense of "throw down, lay flat, overthrow" is by 1560s. Related: Prostrated; prostrating.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to prostrate

prostration(n.)

c. 1400, prostracioun, "action of prostrating oneself" (in humility, adoration, etc.), from Old French prostracion (14c.) and directly from Late Latin prostrationem (nominative prostratio) "an overthrowing, a subverting," noun of action from past-participle stem of prosternere "strew in front, throw down" (see prostrate (v.)); or else a native formation from prostrate (v.). Meaning "weakness, exhaustion" is from 1650s; by early 19c. also "dejection, depression of spirits."

pro-

word-forming element meaning "forward, forth, toward the front" (as in proclaim, proceed); "beforehand, in advance" (prohibit, provide); "taking care of" (procure); "in place of, on behalf of" (proconsul, pronoun); from Latin pro (adv., prep.) "on behalf of, in place of, before, for, in exchange for, just as," which also was used as a first element in compounds and had a collateral form por-.

Also in some cases from cognate Greek pro "before, in front of, sooner," which also was used in Greek as a prefix (as in problem). Both the Latin and Greek words are from PIE *pro- (source also of Sanskrit pra- "before, forward, forth;" Gothic faura "before," Old English fore "before, for, on account of," fram "forward, from;" Old Irish roar "enough"), extended form of root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before, toward, near," etc.

The common modern sense of "in favor of, favoring" (pro-independence, pro-fluoridation, pro-Soviet, etc.) was not in classical Latin and is attested in English from early 19c.

*stere-

*sterə-, also *ster-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to spread."

It might form all or part of: consternate; consternation; construct; construction; destroy; destruction; industry; instruct; instruction; instrument; obstruct; obstruction; perestroika; prostrate; sternum; sternocleidomastoid; strain (n.2) "race, stock, line;" stratagem; strategy; strath; strato-; stratocracy; stratography; stratosphere; stratum; stratus; straw; stray; street; strew; stroma; structure; substrate; substratum; substructure.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit strnoti "strews, throws down;" Avestan star- "to spread out, stretch out;" Greek stronymi "strew," stroma "bedding, mattress," sternon "breast, breastbone;" Latin sternere "to stretch, extend;" Old Church Slavonic stira, streti "spread," strana "area, region, country;" Russian stroji "order;" Gothic straujan, Old High German strouwen, Old English streowian "to sprinkle, strew;" Old English streon "strain," streaw "straw, that which is scattered;" Old High German stirna "forehead," strala "arrow, lightning bolt;" Old Irish fo-sernaim "spread out," srath "a wide river valley;" Welsh srat "plain."

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    prone
    c. 1400, "naturally inclined (to have or do something), apt, liable by disposition or tendency," from Latin pronus "bent forward, leaning forward, bent over," figuratively "inclined to, disposed," perhaps from adverbial form of pro "before, for, instead of" (see pro-) + ending as
    flat
    c. 1300, "stretched out (on a surface), prostrate, lying the whole length on the ground;" mid-14c., "level, all in one plane; even, smooth;" of a roof, "low-pitched," from Old Norse flatr "flat," from Proto-Germanic *flata- (source also of Old Saxon flat "flat, shallow," Old High
    consternate
    participle of consternare "overcome, confuse, dismay, perplex, terrify, alarm," probably related to consternere "throw down, prostrate...
    procumbent
    forth roots," from Latin procumbentem (nominative procumbens), present participle of procumbere "to fall forward, fall prostrate...
    consternation
    consternare "overcome, confuse, dismay, perplex, terrify, alarm," which is probably related to consternere "throw down, prostrate...
    grovel
    1590s, Shakespearean back-formation from groveling "on the face, prostrate" (mid-14c.), also used in Middle English as an...
    stretch
    Old English streccan (transitive and intransitive) "to stretch, spread out, prostrate; reach, extend" (past tense strehte...
    alert
    "on the watch," 1610s, from French alerte "vigilant" (17c.), from prepositional phrase à l'erte "on the watch," from Italian all'erta "to the height." The second element is from erta "lookout, high tower," noun use of fem. of erto, past participle of ergere "raise up," from Latin
    alter
    late 14c., "to change (something), make different in some way," from Old French alterer "to change, alter," from Medieval Latin alterare "to change," from Latin alter "the other (of the two)," from PIE root *al- (1) "beyond" + comparative suffix -ter (as in other). Intransitive s
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

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