stress positionn.
/ˈstrɛs pəˌzɪʃn/, U.S. /ˈstrɛs pəˌzɪʃən/ 1. Phonetics and Prosody. The part of a word or sentence which is stressed or accented.
ΚΠ
1900 J. F. Genung Working Princ. Rhetoric viii. 246 In the stress-position, at the end, it [sc. an of-phrase] is more liable than other phrases to seem misplaced.
1988 G. T. Wright Shakespeare's Metrical Art (1991) ii. 21 Many lines include one or two weaker syllables in stress positions.
2002 M. S. Whitley Spanish/English Contrasts (ed. 2) iv. 79 In both Spanish and English, most nouns keep the same stress position when a plural suffix is added: ánimal ánimals [etc.].
2.
a. A body position or posture which puts stress on a person's muscles, joints, etc.
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1969 Guardian 12 May 17/2 It has to give support in the driver's seat to the back, the bottom, and parts of the leg for half a dozen different stress positions—braking, changing gear, steady motoring, and so on.
1970 H. R. Lewis & H. S. Streitfeld Growth Games vi. 124 Don't hold a stress position like this [sc. arching backward over a stool] for more than two minutes.
2001 D. Kostopoulos & K. Rizopoulos Man. Trigger Point & Myofascial Therapy viii. 42 Repetitive motion injuries, as well as injuries through stress positions, are very common.
b. spec. An enforced body position which causes extreme pain or muscle fatigue when held for a prolonged period, used as a form of torture esp. in interrogating detainees.
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1973 Stanford (Calif.) Daily 16 Feb. 1/3 [As a POW] you spend the whole time..sitting in some type of stress position. Then they start their indoctrination.
1993 ‘A. McNab’ Bravo Two Zero (1994) x. 283 The pain from the handcuffs and the stress position had become too much.
2017 S. Alexie You don't have to say you love Me xli. 128 According to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Geneva Conventions, stress positions are a form of torture—illegal, immoral, and inhumane.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2022).
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n.1900