Prostrare

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To throw oneself down in submission or reverence
2. to lay flat as a gesture of humility or worship
3. to render powerless or exhausted through overwhelming force or influence

Etymology: "Prostrare" combines "pro-," meaning "forward" or "before," with "sternere," a Latin verb meaning "to spread out" or "to lay down." Together they describe something laid out flat in front of someone. The same "sternere" lies behind "stratum," a layer laid down, and "consternation," from a related verb that originally meant to strike down or throw into confusion. Latin speakers used the verb for the literal act of lying flat on the ground. The humble sense grew from that bodily gesture, since throwing oneself down before a superior or a god was a way of showing deference. The English adjective "prostrate" comes from the past participle of the Latin verb, so it keeps that original image of a body spread out on the ground.

Synonyms: prostrate, lay down, bow, kneel, submit

Antonyms: stand, rise, uplift, erect