Disposicioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The arrangement or orderly placing of things in a particular way ; a person's natural temperament or characteristic inclination ; the power or authority to decide what is done with something
2. How things are set out or ordered in a given pattern ; the innate mood, character or leaning of an individual ; the authority to control or dispose of a thing
3. A particular ordering or layout of parts ; someone's habitual temperament or tendency of mind ; command or control over the use and handling of property

Etymology: In Middle English, "disposicioun" could describe the orderly arrangement of physical things, but it also carried a strong astrological sense: the positions of the planets and stars in the sky were thought to shape a person's character and fortunes. A person's "disposition" was therefore read as something set in place by the heavens, not simply a mood. The word comes from Old French "disposition," which in turn derives from Latin "dispositio," meaning an arrangement or ordering. That Latin noun is built from "disponere," "to arrange," combining "dis-" (apart, in different directions) with "ponere," "to place." The sense of placing things in order is the root of the modern meanings, from a temperament or inclination to the arrangement of a legal estate or a disposal of property.