positionn.
/pəˈzɪʃn/, U.S. /pəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/ I. Senses relating to a proposition or thesis.
1. Chiefly Logic and Philosophy.† b. The action of positing, affirming, or laying down a proposition, thesis, etc.; affirmation, postulation. Obsolete.
a. A proposition or thesis laid down or stated; something posited; a statement, an assertion; a tenet, belief, opinion. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > putting forward for discussion > [noun]
positiona1398
proponement1553
proposition1553
proposure1624
eventilation1650
propoundment1846
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > putting forward for discussion > [noun] > matter for discussion
questionc1225
pointc1300
propositiona1382
conclusion1393
positiona1398
motivec1400
move1439
gainsay1559
moot point1563
argumenta1568
prop1607
contention1635
corollary1636
hypothesis1669
discursivea1676
contestation1880
submission1884
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 34v Aristotil seiþ al þis opunliche..þouȝ it be oþirwise write of principal bigynnynge of blood in bokes of phisicians; But we haue nouȝt to do with þis strif, for eiþir possessioun [read possissioun: L. positio] and opinioun semeþ [perh. read serueþ] vs touchinge oure menynge.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) iv. 1982 (MED) Ye cristen putte euere in ȝoure posycioun That there be noo moo goddis but oon.
1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. Av I had rather referre it, as a disputatiue plea to diuines, than set it downe as a determinate position.
1597 F. Bacon Ess. x. f. 30 It is a position in the Mathematiques that there is no proportion betweene somewhat and nothing.
1637 G. Gillespie Dispute against Eng.-Popish Ceremonies ii. i. 9 The position..which we maintaine.., and from which we will not departe the breadth of one naile, is this.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Anarchism, the Doctrine, Positions or Art of those that teach anarchy, also the being itself of the people without a Prince or Ruler.
a1677 J. Taylor Contempl. State Man (1684) ii. iii. 193 It was a position of the Stoicks, that he was not Poor who wanted; but he who was necessitated.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. I. xv. 374 An edict, which contains many extraordinary positions and pretensions.
1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe II. iv. 168 Hooker..rests his positions on one solid basis, the eternal obligation of natural law.
1845 J. H. Newman Ess. Devel. Christian Doctr. ii. ii. 129 I have called the doctrine of Infallibility an hypothesis:..let it be considered to be a mere position, supported by no direct evidence, but required by the facts of the case.
1918 T. Whittaker Neo-Platonists (ed. 2) iv. 29 Plotinus did not care for personal controversy; as was shown by his commissioning his pupils to reply to attacks on his positions.
2002 M. Budd Aesthetic Appreciation Nature ii. 77 Kant's position is rendered even less compelling by an additional twist to the line of thought I have sketched.
ΚΠ
?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. v. pr. iv. 48 For by grace of posicioun [v.r. by grace of possessioun; L. positionis gratia]..I pose þat ther ne be no prescience.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 239 I doe not in position, Destinctly speake of her. View more context for this quotation
1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica ii. xii. 54 The Disjunctive Syllogism,..if consisting of two Members immediately opposed, may proceed from a Position of one Member to an Eversion of the other.
1832 J. Austin Province Jurispr. v. 130 It exists by the position or institution of its individual or collective author.
a1856 W. Hamilton Lect. Metaphysics (1860) III. xvii. 332 A disjunctive syllogism consists..in the reciprocal position or sublation of contradictory characters, by the subsumption of one or other.
1877 E. Caird Crit. Acct. Philos. Kant ii. xvi. 573 The alternate position and negation leads to an infinite series.
2. Mathematics. A method of finding the value of an unknown by positing or assuming one or more values for it, finding by how much the results differ from those required of the unknown, and then compensating for the error. Also rule of false position, rule of position.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > process of calculating > method or rule for
rulea1387
canonc1400
backer1543
position1551
rule of falsehood1552
rule of three1562
method of exhaustions1685
sieve1803
sieve of Eratosthenes1803
algorithm1811
algorism1888
sieve1897
decision procedure1936
pivotal condensation1939
decision method1940
1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. ii. Pref. The rule of false position, with dyuers examples not onely vulgar, but some appertaynyng to the rule of Algeber.
a1690 S. Jeake Compl. Body Arithm. (1701) xiv. 499 In Double Position make a Supposition twice..; and if either Number of them supposed happen to resolve the Question, the Work is done: But if not, observe the Errors, and whether they be greater or lesser than the Resolution requireth.
1766 C. Hutton School-master's Guide (ed. 2) 139 To the rule of position belong such questions as cannot be solved by the direct process by any of the former rules; and in which the required number or numbers do not ascend above the first power.
1806 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) I. 135 Position is a method of performing certain questions, which cannot be resolved by the common direct rules.
1806 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) I. 136 Double Position is the method of resolving certain questions by means of two suppositions of false numbers.
1850 U. Parke Lect. Philos. Arithm. (ed. 4) 342 Find his original capital without using the rule of Position.
1948 R. T. Beyer tr. F. A. Willers Pract. Anal. iv. 205 With the method of false position, linear interpolation is used for the determination of the roots.
1992 H. Eves Fund. Mod. Elem. Geom. iii. 121 The method employed, often called the method of similitude, is a geometric counterpart of the rule of false position used by the ancient Egyptians to solve linear equations in one unknown.
II. Senses relating to place or manner of disposition.† 6. The action of positioning, placing, or disposing things (or the parts of a thing), esp. in a particular order or arrangement. Obsolete.
3.
a. The place in which a person, thing, etc., is located or has been put; situation, site, station. in (also into) position: in (also into) its, his, or her proper, appropriate, or correct place; also conversely out of position. Cf. pole n.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > [noun]
stallc1000
logh11..
settlea1340
placea1375
steada1387
sitea1398
assizec1400
position?a1425
estal1480
stound1557
planting1585
location1592
positure1600
posture1605
seat1607
situs1629
ubi1630
ubiety1645
locus1648
locality1656
topography1658
whereness1674
lie1697
spot1769
locus standi1809
possie1916
ubicity1922
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 7 Þu knowyng þe nature of euery particler & also þe posicions [?a1425 Hunterian pocicioun; L. positiones] & plasmacions which þai haue in al þe body..þu shalt redely knowe if a nerue be kut.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 67 Thre thynges ar to be aduertisede..abowte the knowlege of Paradise... In the secunde, his is inquirede as vn to the posicion of hyt, where hit is.
?1541 R. Copland Galen's Fourth Bk. Terapeutyke sig. Hiij, in Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens Yf ye knowe parfytely the posycyon, & fygure of all the bladder.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 1 A poynt is materiall, and requireth position and place.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xiii. 77 That our Idea of Place, is nothing else, but such a relative Position of any thing, as I have before mentioned.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) The Respect of a Planet in Astrological Figure, to other Planets and Parts of the Figure, is called his Position.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) A line is said to be given in position..when its Situation, Bearing, or Direction, with regard to some other Line, is given.
1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 25 Having the Distance and Position of two Points A and B.
1840 D. Lardner Treat. Geom. 20 The apparent position of an object is a term used in science to express the position of the object so far as it can be determined by the sight.
1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 15 To Position.—An abbreviation for ‘to place in position’,..‘to place a ball in a proper position to make its next point in order’.
1901 G. W. James Indian Basketry iii. 24 He succeeded in killing the monster and its mate but was unable to get down from his perilous position.
1923 Daily Mail 28 Mar. 9 She lacks courtcraft, and is frequently out of position.
1968 Jrnl. Pediatrics 73 903/1 The operator uses his left index finger to..maintain the catheter in position during resuscitation.
2001 Pract. Householder Aug. 14/3 Trying to keep a large piece of board raised while fixing it into position is a two-handed job.
b. Military. A site chosen for occupation by an army or detachment of troops, usually as having strategic value.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > military position > [noun]
stationa1325
steadc1330
ward1487
post1642
position1781
field posta1783
field position1785
depot1798
battle station1830
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xviii. 118 To compel his adversary to relinquish this advantageous position.
1820 W. Scott Monastery I. ii. 93 A position of considerable strength.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 11 On, on! take forts and storm positions.
1852 G. Grote Hist. Greece IX. ii. lxx. 124 Taking up their night-post at a distance..from the Grecian position.
1890 J. G. Nicolay & J. Hay Abraham Lincoln VIII. ix. 241 General Meade..manœuvred to select a position where he would have the advantage.
1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel iv. 347 They had a big map of Europe hung up on the livingroom wall and marked the positions of the allied armies with little flags.
1979 Daily Tel. 24 Oct. 1/8 The position was completely destroyed and casualties were inflicted on the terrorists before the survivors fled.
2004 Irish Times (Nexis) 6 Nov. 9 The US military said overnight air raids had destroyed a command post, arms caches and rebel positions in the city.
c. Sport. The role of a player within a team, reflecting either the player's specific function, or the part of the field of play occupied.
ΚΠ
1890 Lima (Ohio) Daily Times 25 Nov. 3/5 In his favorite position of quarterback he plays a wonderful game.
1896 Nevada State Jrnl. 28 Oct. 3/2 Following are the names and positions of the respective teams. Gilt Edge. McHale. Position. Catcher.
1987 Grimsby Evening Tel. 3 Nov. 16 Terry will start the match. We've looked at him in a couple of positions in training and he has looked okay.
2005 S. Wales Echo (Nexis) 10 Sept. 36 Born: Cardiff... Age: 30. Position: Winger. Shoots: right... Plays ice hockey part-time.
d. The particular location allocated to an employee, esp. the place occupied by each cashier along a service counter.
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1937 Times 25 Oct. 21/1 Our operators on the great 24-position switchboard deal with an average of 45,000 calls per day.
1957 J. Osborne Look Back in Anger ii. i. 49 You can quit hanging round my counter Mildred 'cos you'll find my position is closed.
2004 Retail Banker Internat. (Nexis) 3 Sept. 8 Leaflets [are] carried in the slots of the queue stand and in units at cashier positions.
4.
a. The way in which a thing or its parts are arranged or disposed, placement, configuration; esp. posture, bodily attitude; (also) a particular configuration or posture. eastward position, lotus position, pendulum position, rest position: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > [noun]
standing?c1400
situationa1484
setting?1523
disposition?1541
position1556
collocation1605
posture1605
standa1684
lie1697
lay1819
presentation1833
sit1857
gisement1864
orientation1875
1556 R. Record Castle of Knowl. 267 Besyde these 22 starres, there are other 19, whiche in their dyuers and croked position doo make a forme of a Ryuer, and are called the Water whiche Aquarye sheddeth.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 154 What position of body hee was in the Sabbath morning, in the same hee ought to continue all that day, without change of gesture or place.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica v. vi. 241 As for their gesture or position, the men lay downe leaning on their left elbow. View more context for this quotation
1675 N. Grew Compar. Anat. Trunks ii. vii. 76 Elm..is the most cross-grain'd Timber; that is, cleaveth so unevenly..according to the cross position of the said Vessels.
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. x. 184 They should lift their Treading Leg so high as to tire it..after it is raised to so uncommodious a position.
1766 ‘M. A. Porny’ Elem. Heraldry (1787) 151 If the Figure is set with the face looking frontways or forwards, this Position is denoted by the term Affrontee.
1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) II. xxiii. 368 The common turf-boring crane-fly (T[ipula] oleracea, L.)..moves over the grass with her body in a vertical position.
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 79 The position of the beam at half-stroke, horizontal.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. xiv. 254 I cannot see you without disturbing my position in this comfortable chair.
1916 E. R. Burroughs Beasts of Tarzan x. 164 He lifted the Swede's head in his arms to change and ease his position.
1988 A. France Consuming Psychotherapy iii. 65 She also provided a flexible sort of chair, which did not oblige a rigidly upright position, but enabled one to loll or curl up.
2002 Time 15 Apr. 78/3 When you sit too long in a cramped position, the blood in your legs tends to clot.
b. Dance. The disposition of the limbs in a dance step, esp. with reference to a sequence of five stages. See also first position n. (a) at first adj., adv., and n.2 Compounds 1b(b), fourth position n. at fourth adj. and n. Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > movements or steps > [noun] > position of limbs
position1735
1735 K. Tomlinson Art Dancing i. xxx. 88 Of the close beating before and falling behind in the third Position, upright Spring changing to the same, and coupee to a measure.
1778 English Mag. Feb. 59/2 A woman who was ignorant that her first curtsey should be in the third position.
1819 M. Edgeworth Let. 17 Apr. (1971) 199 She seems evermore as if she had the fear of the five positions before her eyes.
1884 D. Anderson Compl. Ball-room Guide 10 Second position, put out right foot in a straight line with left heel, right heel about four inches from left heel.
1930 M. Craske & C. W. Beaumont Theory & Pract. Allegro in Classical Ballet 15 Lower the arms to the fifth position en bas.
1979 A. Morice Murder in Outline iii. 26 Carefully placing his feet, right heel to left instep, in the number two position.
2004 Loaded Mar. 169/1 If I remember correctly, from my many years stomping the boards with the Moscow Ballet, this position is known as a grande plie.
c. Chess. The configuration of the pieces and pawns on the board at any point in a game.
ΚΠ
1765 R. Lambe Hist. Chess 91 When the King has no man whom he can play, and is not in check, yet is so blocked up, that he cannot move without going into check, this position is called a stale-mate.
1790 ‘A. D. Philidor’ Chess Analysed II. 90 In this position it is a drawn game.
1891 E. Freeborough Chess Endings 12 There is always the general principle—the grasp of the position.
1981 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 Nov. c3 The situation, with a queen and two pawns against a rook and four pawns, is one that has not been much analyzed by chess theoreticians, and the complications of the position could have kept the game going for a long time.
1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Sept. a17/4 In a blocked position, a knight is usually at least as good as a bishop.
d. Music. The placement of the hand along the neck of a stringed instrument, together with the disposition of the fingers on its fingerboard. With reference to various placements (usually identified by a numerical adjective). Cf. first position n. (b) at first adj., adv., and n.2 Compounds 1b(b).
ΚΠ
1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 216/2 Half-shift, a position of the hand in playing instruments of the violin family. It lies between the open position and the first shift.
1891 A. La Tarche Violin Student's Man. 7 To shift from the fifth to the higher positions, before moving the hand, throw back the thumb until the neck rests on the first joint.
1938 Oxf. Compan. Music 743/2 The left hand in the playing of stringed instruments is moved from time to time... Each of these locations is a ‘position’—‘First Position’, ‘Second Position’, &c.
1966 B. Schwartz tr. C. Flesch Violin Fingering i. 9 The basic position of the hand at the lower end of the fingerboard, with the first finger naturally poised to produce a second above the open string, constitutes the ‘first position’.
2000 G. Santoro Myself when I am Real (2001) iii. 36 He scoped his way around the bulky strings and recalcitrant fingerboard,..learning unusual fingerings and positions, learning to use the big bass like a cello.
e. spec. A particular posture adopted during sexual intercourse.See also missionary position n. at missionary n. and adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > position in intercourse
position1883
1883 tr. Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana ii. vi. 65 When the woman forcibly holds in her yoni the lingam after it is in, it is called the ‘mare's position’. This is learnt by practice only.
1933 E. A. Robertson Ordinary Families vi. 112 I show de shentleman de twenty-seex poseetions of lof?
1969 Daily Tel. 10 Jan. (Colour Suppl.) 7 In six States [in the U.S.] a woman may still be awarded a divorce if her husband makes love to her in any other than the missionary position.
1974 W. Garner Big enough Wreath v. 60 My pa..always warned me about the Chinese position.
1977 Times 26 Mar. 12/5 There was actually—this was, maybe, 1938—a chapter on positions. Wow!
1995 New Yorker 17 July 63/1 Quizzed about which sexual position he prefers, my uncle replies that he likes to be lying on his back, with the woman sitting on top of him. ‘Ah,’ says Benjamin Péret, ‘the so-called “lazy position”.’
f. As a mass noun: the state of being favourably or advantageously placed, esp. in a competitive situation; advantageous placing or condition; see also to jockey for position at jockey v. 1d. In Chess, Snooker, and other games of strategy: configuration of play which confers an advantage over an opponent; favourable location or disposition.
ΚΠ
1883 Knowledge June 334/1 That heavy and subtle wrestling for position which distinguishes the first-class player.
1944 Return to Attack (Army Board, N.Z.) 18/1 Using the slight undulations of the desert to get hull down and so present the smallest target, they manoeuvred for position.
1950 L. H. Dawson Hoyle's Games Modernized (ed. 20) iii. 340 The most successful [pool] player is not necessarily he who can ‘pot’ with the deadliest accuracy, but he who combines potting with effectively playing for position.
1975 F. Heer Charlemagne & his World x. 149 This is the elevated ideal that lay behind all the politicking and manoeuvering for position that took place in Rome in 800.
1982 R. Sheppard & M. Valpy National Deal xiv. 303 On the streets leading up to Parliament Hill, the proprietors of the fried-chip wagons jostled for position.
1995 Snooker Scene May 18/2 Prospects of a 147 were dashed when he ran out of position on the eighth red and had to play for the blue.
2001 Hull Daily Mail (Electronic ed.) 7 Apr. The Huddersfield player took the brown and then the blue and checked the scoreboard to see that he was one behind after attempting to pot the pink and get position on the black.
5. Grammar. The occurrence of a vowel in an open or closed syllable, as affecting its length; spec. (Ancient Greek Prosody and Latin Prosody) the occurrence of a short vowel before two consonants or their equivalent, i.e. before a consonant in the same syllable, making the syllable metrically long.Examples in Latin prosody: in-fer-ret-que, con-vex-ī = con-vec-sī. In such cases it used to be said that the vowel was ‘long by position’; but the evidence of Greek and the history of the sounds in Romance show that the vowel remained short, while the syllable was metrically long. When both consonants could be taken to the following syllable, the preceding vowel might be ‘in position’ or not, as in te-ne-brās or te-neb-rās.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun] > quantity > long syllable > conditioning for
position1580
1580 G. Harvey Let. to Spenser in Wks. (1884) I. 106 Position neither maketh shorte, nor long in oure Tongue, but so farre as we can get hir good leaue.
1582 R. Stanyhurst in tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis To Rdr. sig. Bv And soothly..yf thee coniunction, And, were made common in English, yt were not amisse, althogh yt bee long by position.
1775 J. Ash New Dict. Eng. Lang. Position (in grammar) the state of a vowel placed before two consonants.
1876 B. H. Kennedy Public School Lat. Gram. (ed. 4) 512 In the words fātō, mǣstīs both syllables are long by nature: in fāctūs sūbsūnt the four syllables, whose vowels are short by nature, are all lengthened by position. H does not give position any more than the aspirate in Greek.
1901 J. Huguenin Secondary Stress in Anglo-Saxon 13 The inflected cases in which the suffixual syllable is lengthened by position are, the genitive and dative singular feminine, the accusative singular masculine, and the genitive plural.
1985 Trans. Amer. Philol. Soc. 115 150 (note) An indication of changes in the old system of syllable weight might be seen..in the..increasing preference, among quantitatively exact poets, for syllables long by nature..over syllables long by position.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > [noun] > action of arranging
disposingc1440
raying1552
marshalling1591
position1616
arrangement1728
ordering1828
placement1844
1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor (at cited word) Position, a setting or placing.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. iii. 158 You may change the Polarity of many feeble Stones, by a long Position in a contrary posture.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) iii. vii. 288 In my Watch, the Law and Rule of its Motion is the Constitution and Position of its Parts by the Hand and Mind of the skilful Artist.
1735 J. Bertin Noble Game of Chess Pref. p. iii The Game of Chess consists of two parts, the Offensive, and Defensive;..the Defensive [consists], in the due position of your own [forces], by guarding against your enemy's attack.
1797 A. Cumming in Commun. Bd. Agric. II. 366 Dishing (or the oblique position of the spokes) added much to the strength and stiffness of wheels.
7. Music.† b. The movement of bringing the hand down while beating time. Obsolete. rare.
a. The arrangement of the constituent notes of a chord, with respect to their order, or to the intervals between them.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > chord > [noun] > arrangement of notes
position1721
scheme1721
chording1866
1721 A. Malcolm Treat. Musick 530 Now, every Mode being considered by it self as a distinct System, may have the Names Proslamb. hyp-hyp. &c. applied to it; for these signify only in general the Positions of the Chords in any particular System; if they are so applied, he [sc. Ptolomy] calls them the Positions.
1786 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music Inverted, a term applicable to certain positions of any subject or chord.
1880 W. S. Rockstro in G. Grove Dict. Music II. 17 In whatever position they may be taken, Consonant Intervals remain always consonant; Dissonant Intervals, dissonant.
1989 E. Taylor AB Guide Mus. Theory I. 59 An open-position triad is still described as being in root position, or in first or second inversion, according to which of its notes is at the bottom.
ΚΠ
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Position..in music, is used for the putting down the hand in beating time.
8.
a. figurative. A relation in which a person stands with respect to another or others; a person's circumstances, condition, or situation, esp. as affecting his or her influence, role, or power to act; spec. (frequently in social position) status, rank, standing.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > [noun]
estatec1230
statec1300
rowa1350
qualityc1425
calling1477
range1494
line1528
stature1533
respect1601
station1603
gradationa1616
ordinancea1616
repute1615
spherea1616
distance1635
impression1639
civils1650
footing1657
regimen1660
order1667
sect1709
caste1791
status1818
position1829
social status1833
standpoint1875
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] > state of affairs or situation
thingeOE
stallc1000
estrec1300
farea1325
arrayc1386
casea1393
costa1400
state of thingsa1500
style?a1505
predicament1586
facta1617
posture1620
picture1661
situation1750
position1829
lie1850
posish1859
state of play1916
the form1934
score1938
sitch1954
1829 Times 16 Feb. 4/5 That host of men, accomplished, laborious, active,—whom publicity instructs and awakens—whom their social position, the feeling of their capacity, and the example of so many elevations as unexpected as theirs would be, impel towards public affairs by so many different roads.
1843 W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Mexico I. i. vi. 185 There is no position, which affords such scope for ameliorating the condition of man, as that occupied by an absolute ruler over a nation imperfectly civilised.
1853 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey (new ed.) v. xii. 202 Do not believe that I am one who would presume an instant on my position.
1853 C. Brontë Villette II. xxviii. 293 Pedigree, social position, and recondite intellectual acquisition, occupied about the same space and place in my interests and thoughts.
1868 J. Bruce in K. Digby Jrnl. Voy. Mediterranean Pref. p. xxxiv A man of considerable position.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 392 Arms were extemporised for an adequate number of citizens, and the city was somehow put into a position to stand a siege.
1907 Daily Chron. 3 June 3/6 An association of..plot-owners has been formed for the purpose of improving their position.
1950 R. Macaulay World my Wilderness xxviii. 205 She would be, after all, in the stronger position, doing what..was the fine and generous thing.
1976 G. Butler Vesey Inheritance vi. 176 I am a young woman of education and social position.
1995 Guardian 23 Sept. (Money section) 3/8 We felt we were not in a position to judge the merits of her case.
2000 Plumbing Mag. (Inst. of Plumbing) May–June 32/1 ‘No win, no fee’ arrangements will be available to everyone, putting all claimants on an equal footing irrespective of their financial position.
b. In a contest or competitive event: the place or standing of a contestant or competitor in relation to the others. In a specified category, field, etc.: the status or rank of any of those included in relation to the others.
ΚΠ
1832 Times 13 Dec. 5/2 Sir John Walsh was evidently much chagrined at having been thus placed in the second position, as he appears to have thought the borough his own.
1835 Times 19 June 3/3 The Merlin filly shut up and Glencoe took up the running, Bran still lying second;..Nonsense then took the third position.
1885 S. Smiles Men of Invention & Industry (U.S. ed.) iii. 82 It was right that England, then rapidly advancing to the first position as a commercial nation, should make every effort to render navigation less hazardous.
1913 Times 23 June 3/1 Somerset occupies the top position among the counties for its mangel crop.
1985 Frederick (Maryland) Post 20 Sept. d1/1 (caption) Carlisle High School Band..finished in top position overall. In group one, Brunswick High School took first position.
2005 Weekly Times (Australia) (Nexis) 14 Sept. 51 A rail down and a time penalty in the second round saw Michelle take second position.
c. A post as an employee; a paid office, a job.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > position or job > [noun] > official
officec1300
place1558
employment1590
employ1671
position1846
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) i. 4 Mr. Pilkins here, who from his position of medical adviser in this family—no one better qualified to fill that position, I am sure.
1868 Ann. Rep. Commissioner (U.S. Office Educ.) 473 The same authority which commissions for a position is to receive also application for discharge.
1900 R. Kipling in Daily Express 19 June 4/5 With a view to getting him a ‘position in the city’.
1926 Travel Nov. 26/2 Saed Mahmoud, with the inherent hate of the Moslem for the Armenian Christian, intrigued against him, and in his way, made things in the villages so difficult for him that he was obliged to resign his position.
1955 S. Wilson Man in Gray Flannel Suit (1956) vii. 42 When you leave..we'll have to replace you, and it might not be possible for us to find a position here for you if you returned to look for a job.
1991 Purchasing & Supply Managem. Apr. 2 Ideally candidates applying for this position will be aged up to 35 and have 3/4 years experience of transport and shipping systems.
d. Stock Market. The status of a trader's open contract, esp. with regard to the term of its maturity. Also: (the inventory of) an investor's net holdings in one or more markets at a particular time.
ΚΠ
1875 Times 22 Oct. 6/4 The market closes steady at an improvement of 1-32d. in near positions.
1927 Wall St. Jrnl 4 Oct. 18/5 Small recoveries, chiefly on covering, left prices at close unchanged to off 15 points with near positions showing greatest losses.
1960 Rev. Econ. Stud. 27 142 Most of the traders contacted who claim to hedge at all stated that they often carry very small inventories..and thereby maintain only small positions in futures.
1991 Financial Times 20 Mar. 37/2 The company took positions in both derivative and cash markets.
2001 Financial Times 27 Jan. (Personal Finance Q. Review) 8/3 We are therefore selling our position in emerging markets bonds.
9. An opinion, attitude, or viewpoint on a particular subject. Frequently with on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > mental attitude, point of view > [noun]
spectaclec1386
reckoninga1393
view1573
sect1583
prospective1603
light1610
posture1642
point of view1701
stand1819
attitude of mind1832
psychology1834
standpoint1834
perspective1841–8
position1845
viewpoint1856
angle1860
way of looking at it1861
attitudea1873
pose1892
Anschauung1895
slant1905
1845 Times 20 Nov. 6/2 You can decide better than we can..whether England will maintain her position on this subject.
1869 Times 28 Dec. 3/6 How about Cuba..? Most people..were a good deal astonished at your position on that question.
1919 N.Y. Times 7 Jan. 4/6 The Republican Party..was evidently in imminent danger of taking a ‘pussy-footed’ position on the war.
1937 Life 12 Apr. 30/2 (caption) Associate Justice Roberts reversed his own position on minimum-wage laws and therefore that of the Supreme Court.
1973 Sat. Evening Post (U.S.) July 104/2 When you are trying to force a position on people, then you are involved in ‘churchianity’, but now we are just trying to share Jesus with them.
2000 F. Nostbakken Understanding Othello v. 168 Write an essay in which you choose between Bradley's and Leavis's views of the play and argue your position.
Compounds
position angle n. an angle giving the direction at which a point lies with respect to another point; (esp. in Astronomy) the angle between the hour-circle passing through a celestial object and the great circle joining that object to another celestial object (also called angle of position).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > heavenly body > position of heavenly body > [noun] > position angle
angle of position1812
position angle1862
1862 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 152 358 I paid most particular attention to the prominence A, because I knew from its position that it was critically placed for the observation of any change of position-angle in reference to the moon's centre.
1870 Nature 24 Mar. 543/1 That observer records the position-angles and apparent distances of the satellites of Uranus.
1893 R. S. Ball Story of Sun 170 The angle between the pole projected on the Sun's disc and the north point is what we call the position angle.
1970 Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 80 216 Predicted times and position angle are [etc.].
1998 Mod. Astronomer Mar. 34/2 (table) Libration is the varying angle at which we see the Moon's disc, measured in degrees, and the Position Angle (P.A.) of the limb with the greatest tilt towards Earth, measured from the north pole on the Moon (0°), through east (90°) etc., is shown.
position artillery n. now rare heavy field artillery; cf. gun of position n. at gun n. 1d.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > piece of artillery > [noun] > heavy piece > collectively
Roaring Meg1617
position artillery1867
big stuff1883
1867 Times 17 Apr. 7/3 The shore..shelves so rapidly that large ships could approach within short range and clear the coast of all defenders who should oppose the landing, supported only by field or position artillery.
1898 E. A. Campbell (title) Lectures on Position Artillery.
1942 Jrnl. Mod. Hist. 14 366 The heavy guns, once located on the field of battle, might properly be called position-artillery.
position battery n. now rare a battery of heavy field artillery.
ΚΠ
1855 Times 5 Jan. 7/6 A position battery of 12 or 18 pounders is attached to each foot brigade.
1877 Times 18 Sept. 10/1 A heavy fire opened, first of musketry, then of field-guns, then of both combined, the position battery joining in from our right and the Roumanian left.
1910 Times 20 Apr. 6/2 The War Office was at present building a position battery on the island of Walney.
position change n. Genetics any change in the order of the genes along a chromosome.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [noun] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes
repulsion1908
polymery1914
hypostasis1917
inversion1921
polymerism1923
interchange1927
position change1937
heterochromatization1941
read-through1969
1937 Nature 30 Oct. 761/2 The primary structural change of inversion gives rise to secondary changes such as reduplication and deficiency. These are changes of ‘balance’, and rank with intra-genic changes and position changes as one of the three effective means of variation.
1952 C. P. Blacker Eugenics: Galton & After x. 245 These alterations of chromosome structure resulting from one or more breakages and recombinations have been called..position changes.
position effect n. Genetics an effect on the phenotypic expression of a gene produced by a difference in its chromosomal position with respect to other genes (esp. mutant genes), or to non-coding heterochromatin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic constitution > [noun] > phenotype > phenotypic effects
potency1916
pleiotropism1927
position effect1930
penetrance1934
pleiotropy1938
complementation1958
1930 Jrnl. Genetics 22 315 Since the addition of different deletions results in much the same effects, regardless of exactly where the breakage occurred, these are not ‘position effects’ caused by displacement of certain genes from others previously adjacent to them.
1974 Genetic Res. 23 291 Position effect variegation is now regarded as a general phenomenon but it is in Drosophila that by far the largest number of cases have been described.
1991 EMBO Jrnl. 9 2843/2 A-elements stimulate transcription of stably reinserted reporter gene ‘mini-domains’ and protect them from chromosomal position effects.
position error n. (a) the variation in the timekeeping of a watch, the reading on an aircraft instrument, etc., resulting from its being in a particular position or attitude; (b) error in estimated, measured, or calculated position.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] > variation in
position error1881
1881 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockmakers' Handbk. (ed. 4) 65 Only the finer class of watches..are as a rule tested for position errors. Position errors..are often confounded with a want of isochronism.
1958 A. G. Avery in H. Comstock Conc. Encycl. Amer. Antiques 490 Position error, the change in rate of a watch when run in different positions.
1988 M. Agazarian Instrument Flying (BNC) 11 The Airspeed Indicator shows Indicated Airspeed (IAS). This has to be corrected for Position Error (Static Pressure effected by movement of the aircraft in relation to the position of the Pitot head and static vents).
2001 Today's Pilot Feb. 64/2 It needs to be converted to a Rectified Air Speed (RAS) by removing the so-called instrument and position errors.
2002 Geophysics in UK (Royal Astron. Soc.) 35/2 An uncorrected perturbation of the signal by the ionosphere and plasmasphere would give position errors of tens of metres.
position-finder n. a piece of apparatus with which one can ascertain one's own position or that of a distant object, esp. one which is not directly visible.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > range- or position-finder
position-finder1876
rangefinder1876
mekometer1894
1876 Times 2 Dec. 4/6 The Range-Finding committee are about to report on this instrument [sc. Watkins's field range-finder], as well as on the position-finder.
1902 T. O'C. Sloane Standard Electr. Dict. 428 The Position Finder is a simplification and amplification of the Range Finder.
1986 A. C. Clarke Songs of Distant Earth 110 Although Loren could locate himself in an instant from the position-finder in his comset, he did not bother.
position-finding n. the ascertaining of one's own position or that of a distant object, esp. automatically by radio or similar means; usually attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > [noun] > ascertaining or determining position of anything
localization1832
position-finding1877
location1900
1877 Times 14 Apr. 5/6 In Germany an electrical system of position finding for coast service has also been adopted.
1947 J. G. Crowther & R. Whiddington Sci. at War 57 Another position-finding system in which, however, the aircraft ‘interrogates’ by sending out pulses.
1999 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 63 909 SHORAN is a high-precision position-finding navigation system.
position light n. a light on a ship which indicates its course to other ships when travelling at night.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > external lanterns lights
poop lantern1651
pharol1660
poop-light1708
top-lantern1748
pharos1759
truck-light18..
riding lamp1825
battle-lantern1830
pilot light1846
sidelight1848
riding light1861
running light1863
position light1889
smoking-lamp1889
navigation light1909
steaming light1909
spreader light1939
fanal-
1889 Times 29 Apr. 9/6 A very pretty effect being produced by the hoisting of position lights on board the men of war.
1908 Times 7 Apr. 7/1 When he sighted the destroyer he gave the orders, ‘Stop her’, ‘Blow three blasts on the siren’, ‘Hoist position lights’, ‘Away all boats’.
1972 Times 4 July 7/2 Commenting on French newspaper reports that the Lefteria was not showing position lights when the collision occurred [etc.].
1993 Swiss Rev. World Affairs (Nexis) Nov. The huge ships have shut down their engines, as well as most position lights, and they drift silently in the current,..invisible in the long winter nights.
position light signal n. Railways an electric fixed signal which gives instructions to the train driver by the position of the lights on its face, rather than by the colour of the lights (cf. colour light signal n. at colour n.1 Compounds 4).
ΚΠ
1914 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. May 569 The development of the position light signal has not yet reached the stage where any further comment is warranted.
1924 N.Y. Times 5 Feb. 34/2 The existing signaling will be changed over to alternating current track circuits and position light signals.
2005 S. Hall Mod. Signalling Handbk. (rev. ed.) 15/1 Train movements other than normal direction running movements are known as shunting movements and are controlled by position light signals.
position-light signalling n. Railways a system of signalling using position light signals; cf. colour light signalling n. at colour n.1 Compounds 4.
ΚΠ
1916 Electric Railway Jrnl. 25 Mar. 609/1 The standard aspects of the American Railway Association showed position-light signaling, but no color-light signaling.
1996 Record (Bergen County, New Jersey) (Nexis) 26 Feb. a16 This system was always used by the Pennsylvania Railroad and Amtrak, and does not rely on colored lights, but is referred to as position-light signalling.
position line n. a line on which the observer is computed to be after having taken a bearing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > [noun] > ascertaining or determining position of anything > line of position
position line1777
line of position1865
1777 R. Waddington Epitome Theoret. & Pract. Navigation xii. 52 From D, draw the lines DA, DB, to cut the position lines, as at A and B, which are the places of the capes.
1863 W. Chauvenet Man. Spherical & Pract. Astron. I. viii. 428 Let the first observation give the position line AA′ (Fig. 35), and let Aa represent, in direction and length, the ship's course and distance sailed between the observations.
1920 J. E. Dumbleton Princ. & Pract. Aerial Navigation i. 13 Owing to small errors three position lines will rarely intersect at a point, but a small triangle is formed known as a ‘cocked hat’.
1991 Motorboat & Yachting June 60/4 As there's only one place which can be on both these position lines at once, that must be where we are.
position mark n. a mark made on a component part of a structure to indicate the position it is designed to occupy.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > mark on part to indicate designated position
position mark1928
1928 G. G. Coulton Art & Reformation viii. 145 An inspection..will convince us that the rare marks found otherwise than on the surface are not banker-marks, but position-marks.
1988 D. Rees GCSE CDT—Design & Realisation xvi. 162 Cut a channel in the drag flask from the position marks left by the sprue pins.
position micrometer n. now rare an apparatus for measuring the position angle of one celestial object relative to another, containing a thread or wire mounted at the common focus of the objective lens and eyepiece of a telescope, which can be rotated in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the telescope; an apparatus similarly used with a microscope.
ΚΠ
1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 175/2 We should recommend fixing the position micrometer upon a slipping-piece.
1871 tr. H. Frey Microscope & Microsc. Technol. 655 (advt.) The whole stage rotates concentrically and independently by means of a rack and pinion on a circular plate, graduated so as to form a goniometer or position micrometer.
1997 I. Ridpath Dict. Astron. 166 Many filar micrometers can also be rotated against an angular scale; such a device is known as a position micrometer.
position paper n. originally U.S. a written statement on policy, esp. one drafted, for executive consideration, by an official in a government department.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > [noun] > a policy > statement of policy > written
position paper1949
1949 Washington Post 19 Sept. 6/7 Before the talks started, a ‘position paper’, for which the State Department and ECA were jointly responsible, was approved by President Truman.
1977 Time (Europe ed.) 7 Mar. 13/1 Carter is just beginning to receive position papers from his advisers on what his policies should be.
1985 Daily Tel. 12 Aug. 10 Instead, Downing Street has been at work combing some of the more obscure corners of Government to find esoteric position papers, overlooked reports and long-term analyses to feed her appetite for facts.
2001 U.S. News & World Rep. 15 Jan. 4/3 Worker bees are cheering his [sc. Colin Powell's] demand to know the name—and phone number—of previously anonymous grunt diplomats who pen department position papers.
position play n. Sport (esp. in Chess) play dominated by long-term strategic considerations rather than by tactics, positional play (see positional adj. 1); (also) a strategic move or plan.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > strategy
position play1878
positioning1884
1878 N.Y. Times 17 Feb. 1/6 Sexton, by some of his noted position play, gathered the balls on the rail, and had started out on what had promised to be a fine run.
1932 E. Lasker Man. Chess iv. 166/1 Whereas by combination values are transformed, they are proved and confirmed by ‘position play’. Thus, position play is antagonistic to combination, as becomes evident when a ‘combinative player’ meets with his counterpart, the ‘position player’.
1960 I. A. Horowitz & G. Mott-Smith Point Count Chess (1973) 356 Position play is a strategic move or plan as distinguished from a tactical (combination).
1991 L. Koppett New Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball 309 Fielders not only have a better chance to grab a batted ball, they have a much greater chance of being in its path. Position play has been developed to a degree of accuracy undreamed of forty years ago.
position player n. (a) Chess a person who adopts position play; (b) Australian Rules Football and American Football a player who is allocated a fixed position.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > Australian football > [noun] > players or positions
goalkicker1871
full forward1880
rover1887
ruck1889
position player1900
centreline1911
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > player > other types of player
blindfold player1900
position player1900
positional player1912
kriegspieler1916
hypermodern1923
hypermodernist1959
1900 N.Y. Times 17 Oct. 10/5 Young Waterbury bore off the honors, scoring 7 of Lakewood's 10 goals, but, though brilliant, his whirlwind style would have been hardly safe against better position players.
1932 E. Lasker Man. Chess iv. 166/1 Position play is antagonistic to combination, as becomes evident when a ‘combinative player’ meets with his counterpart, the ‘position player’.
1969 R. D. Eagleson & I. McKie Terminol. Austral. Nat. Football iii. 4 Position player, a variant for placed man [sc. a player who is allocated a fixed position on the field], recorded by four informants.
2001 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 30 Aug. c14/6 The Yankees are currently carrying 15 position players and 10 pitchers.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poet > poet by kind of poem > [noun] > writer of short poems with specific aims
position poet1589
1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. A Epitaphers, and position Poets haue wee more than a good many.
position relation n. rare the relationship between any two positions.
ΚΠ
1881 J. Broadhouse Student's Helmholtz 383 The position-relation of any two notes forming a given interval is always exactly the same.
1998 A. Mukerjee in P. Olivier & K.-P. Gapp Representation & Processing Spatial Expressions i. 15 In both space and time the position relation has continuous transitions of meaning from ‘before’ to ‘touching’ to ‘overlaps’.
position statement n. originally U.S. a statement setting out the considered position or policy of an organization, group, etc., with respect to a particular matter.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > [noun] > a statement or declaration > of facts or particulars
exposition1388
reckoningc1390
prepositiona1513
factum1648
exposé1715
statement1750
exposal1885
tell-all1940
position statement1960
1960 Holland (Mich.) Evening Sentinel 21 May 1/3 Most of the friction was..over whether to sign a joint position statement on taxes.
1976 Amer. Jrnl. Psychiatry 133 50/1 The task force prepared a position statement..offering a method for establishing effective review bodies in cooperation with local medical societies, as recommended by AMA.
1993 Financial Times (Nexis) 30 June 38 Italy presented two position statements to the council of agricultural ministers, one on the Uruguay Round and the other on Common Agricultural Policy reform.
2002 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) June 81/2 To read the full position statement on aging and its extensive list of references, follow this link.
position-value n. Mathematics = place value n. at place n.1 Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1849 E. C. Otté tr. A. von Humboldt Cosmos II. 597 Nine figures or characters, according to their position-value, under the name of the system of the abacus.
1931 Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 51 130/1 Neugebauer shows that in their consistent sexagesimal notation the ancient Babylonians possessed what is practically a ‘position-value’ system (with base 60) many centuries earlier than the date of the first use by the Hindus of the present system with base 10.
1988 Amer. Antiq. 53 662/1 Actually, our ancestors did compute without a zero, and, furthermore, the invention of the position-value principle we all cherish was not so straightforward and simple.
position vector n. Mathematics a vector which defines the position of a point relative to a fixed origin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > tensor > [noun] > vector > specific type of
R1675
radius vector1740
spin vector1882
axial vector1903
polar vector1903
free vector1904
position vector1906
four-vector1914
pseudovector1922
row vector1928
1906 Science 13 Apr. 574/2 The use of the term displacement to designate the position-vector of a moving particle seems, however, singularly inappropriate.
1942 J. L. Synge & B. A. Griffith Princ. Mech. x. 301 A rigid body is acted on by a force F at O and a couple G. P is an assigned point, with position vector r relative to O.
1992 N.Y. Times 18 Feb. c7/1 Orbit-Trek uses the vectorial form of Newton's gravitational equations to determine the position vectors for the satellites it plots onscreen.
Derivatives
poˈsitionless adj. without a position.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > [adjective] > having a (specified) position > not
unlaid1467
unplaced?a1527
placeless1644
unlocated1714
positionless1871
unstowed1884
1871 Appleton's Jrnl. 16 Sept. 309/2 The young man..was by this unwelcome advent of the rightful heir thrust out into the world penniless and positionless.
1887 W. James in Mind 12 27 Positionless at first, it [sc. a particular kind of feeling] no sooner appears in the midst of a gang of companions than it is found maintaining the strictest position of its own.
1997 PC Week (Nexis) 25 Aug. 74 Apple must develop a closeness with its customers. At Apple, the notion of ‘customer’ is a vague, positionless abstract.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
positionv.
/pəˈzɪʃn/, U.S. /pəˈzɪʃ(ə)n/ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > state or declare [verb (intransitive)] > one's opinion or position
opena1382
to show one's mind1492
to speak one's mindc1500
to speak (also give) one's sense1646
position1647
to declare for1669
explain1709
to come out1836
to go on record1867
1647 R. Josselin Diary 28 Oct. (1976) 107 I positiond and maintayned the Question: my brethren and I are none of the nimblest disputants.
1678 O. Heywood Autobiogr., Diaries, & Event Bks. (1881) II. 196 Mr Thorp position'd on this thesis.
1703 J. Ryther Def. Glorious Gospel Pref. He had preached and position'd.
2.
a. transitive. To put or set (a person or thing) in a particular or appropriate position; to place.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > place or put in a position [verb (transitive)] > situate
setc950
markc1400
situate?a1425
site?c1425
plant1558
seat1603
emplacea1627
position1817
to set down1827
spot1891
1817 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 151 Had I..positioned the birds myself, I could not have had a more glorious opportunity.
1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 15 To Position.—An abbreviation for ‘to place in position’,..‘to place a ball in a proper position to make its next point in order’.
1893 Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 23 Feb. A brace of submarine guns in the bows..positioned so as to discharge their projectiles at a depth of ten feet below the water line.
1955 Sun (Baltimore) 12 Jan. 12/4 The straw is baled, elevated, and positioned on an accompanying truck.
1960 Pract. Wireless 36 429/1 Beginners would be well advised to position the amplifier so that the underneath parts can be inspected while the power is on.
1986 R. Carver Elephant (1988) 37 She positions herself so that she is facing me.
2003 3D World Christmas 53/1 You can also set a lens flare for the light if you actually want to see the sun in the sky, and position it in a suitable location.
b. transitive. Marketing (originally U.S.). To identify or establish (a product, service, or business) as belonging to a particular market sector, esp. for the purposes of promotion in relation to competitors; to promote (a product, service, or business) strategically or distinctively, esp. as fulfilling or exceeding the requirements of a targeted market sector. Also reflexive.
ΚΠ
1955 N.Y. Times 24 May 42/2 A new product must be ‘positioned’ in relation to every other product on the market.
1971 N.Y. Times 7 Apr. 56/1 (advt.) Should you position Schweppes as a soft drink—or as a mixer?
1980 Financial Rev. (Austral.) 28 Mar. 30 ‘Whilst we realise that most Australians regard Pizza Hut as fast food, it is our intention to position ourselves as a fast food service restaurant, rather than fast food,’ Mr Levy says.
1986 Marketing Week 29 Aug. 42/2 They come in boxes of 4 × 5 oz flans and are positioned both as a quick snack or..main meal.
1993 Byte Dec. 136/1 As recently as 1991, dye-diffusion printers were selling in the $40,000 neighborhood, positioned as preview devices in the prepress environment.
2000 DigitalFoto Oct. 76/1 Ricoh is positioning itself as a high-end data collection device for style-conscious executives and dot-commers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > position or situation > [verb (transitive)] > ascertain or determine the position of
locate1813
map1866
position1881
1881 H. W. Nicholson From Sword to Share vi. 40 The later geological observation,..positioning the earliest volcanic action, in this group, on the island of Kanai, and the latest on that of Hawaii.
Derivatives
poˈsitioned adj. placed, situated, esp. in a specified way.Recorded earliest in well-positioned adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > [adjective] > having or occupying (social) position
degreed1608
positioned1832
1832 St. James's Chron. 31 July 1/5 The Gipsey was well positioned, if any thing to the leeward.
a1854 E. Grant Mem. Highland Lady (1988) I. vi. 131 Not one..disgraced the homely rearing of their humbly positioned but gentle born parents.
1867 F. W. Cosens in Athenæum 29 June 846/3 A very rich maiden more highly positioned than himself.
1987 N. F. Dixon Our Own Worst Enemy (1988) xiii. 205 Humour..flips off the carefully positioned fig leaf.
2004 Independent (Compact ed.) 28 Jan. (Property section) 13/1 New high-rise, parks and a brand new market are set to change for ever the dreary image of this primely positioned site.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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