Posicioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The place or arrangement in which something is set in relation to other things ; an assertion or proposition that someone puts forward as true
2. The location or setting in which a thing is situated ; a statement or premise advanced as the basis for an argument
3. The way something is placed or arranged in a particular spot ; a claim or assumption offered as a starting point for reasoning

Etymology: Medieval English writers spelled this word "posicioun," an older form of today's "position." It came into English from Old French "posicion," which descends from Latin "positio," meaning "a placing." That Latin noun comes from "ponere," "to put or set down," whose past participle "positus" supplies the "posit-" stem. The earliest sense was purely physical: the act of setting something in a place, or the place where it sits. From there the meaning widened to a person's place in a row, a town, or a body of troops, and then to social rank or standing. Abstract senses like a stance on a question or a state of affairs grew out of the same idea of being put somewhere.