apposite

English

WOTD – 15 August 2011

Etymology

From Latin appositus, past participle of adponere, from ad- + ponere (“to put, place”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.pə.zɪt/
• IPA^(key): /ˈæ.p.əzɪt/, IPA^(key): /əˈpɒzɪt/

Adjective

apposite (comparative more apposite, superlative most apposite)

1. Strikingly appropriate or relevant; well suited to the circumstance or in relation to something.
   • c. 1833–1856, Andrew Carrick, John Addington Symonds (editors), Medical Topography of Bristol, in Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association/Volume 2/3,

     Medical Topography would be the most apposite title, since it comprehends the principal objects of investigation; [...].

   • 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Machinery in Motion”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, book the first (Poverty), page 197:

     Flora, however, received the remark as if it had been of a most apposite and agreeable nature; approvingly observing aloud that Mr. F's Aunt had a great deal of spirit.

   • 1919, H. L. Mencken, The American Language: An inquiry into the development of English in the United States, Chapter 15: The Expanding Vocabulary,

     Rough-neck is a capital word; it is more apposite and savory than the English navvy, and it is over-whelmingly more American.

2. Positioned at rest in respect to another, be it side-to-side, front-to-front, back-to-back, or even three-dimensionally: in apposition.
   • 1971, University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Volume 34, page 262,

     In other words, they are used to name, rather than to describe. They are apposite nouns and not adjectives.

3. Related, homologous.
   • 2000, David Skeele, "All That Monarchs Do": The Obscured Stages of Authority in Pericles, in Pericles: Critical Essays,

     If the shift in theatrical setting and the shift in dramaturgy are at all related, they are apposite developments, independent yet homologous signs of a changing political and cultural climate.

Synonyms

• (appropriate or relevant): to the point; See also Thesaurus:pertinent
• (positioned at rest in respect to another):
• (related): See also Thesaurus:connected

Related terms

• appositely
• appositeness
• apposition

Translations

appropriate, relevant, well-suited

• Dutch: treffend (nl)
• Esperanto: taŭga, konvena
• Finnish: sopiva (fi)
• German: passend (de)
• Hungarian: odaillő (hu), helyénvaló (hu), találó (hu)
• Interlingue: ,
• Manx: traaoil
• Persian: درخور (fa) (darxor)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: stosowny (pl) m, właściwy (pl) m
• Portuguese: apropriado (pt)
• Russian: го́дный (ru) (gódnyj), подходя́щий (ru) (podxodjáščij), уме́стный (ru) (uméstnyj), соотве́тствующий (ru) (sootvétstvujuščij), уда́чный (ru) (udáčnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: iomchaidh
• Spanish: apropiado (es), pertinente (es)

positioned at rest in respect to another, in apposition

• Finnish: rinnakkainen (fi), vierekkäinen
• Interlingue:
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: aposto (pt)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

related, homologous

• Finnish: rinnakkainen (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} подходящ (bg) (podhodjašt), ^{(please verify)} уместен (bg) (umesten), ^{(please verify)} удачен (bg) (udačen)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Noun

apposite (plural apposites)

1. (rare) That which is apposite; something suitable.
   • 1901, Charles L. Marson, Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln‎^[1]:

     Hugh gave the boy apples or other small apposites […] , but the child was too interested in the bishop to notice the gifts.

See also

• opposite

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Italian

Adjective

apposite

1. feminine plural of apposito

---

Latin

Participle

(deprecated template usage) apposite

1. vocative masculine singular of appositus

References

• “apposite”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “apposite”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers