preposition

From Middle English preposicioun, from Old French preposicion, from Latin praepositio, praepositionem, from praepono (“to place before”), equivalent to pre- +‎ position. Compare French préposition. So called because it is placed before the word with which it is phrased, as in a bridge of iron, he comes from town, it is good for food, he escaped by running.

• præposition (archaic)

• enPR: prĕp-ə-zĭsh'ən, IPA^(key): /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

preposition (plural prepositions)

1. (grammar, strict sense) Any of a class of non-inflecting words typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense, with some other word: a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word.
   • 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 9, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 495:

     And in (121) below, we see that when a wh-NP is used as the Object of a Preposition, the whole Prepositional Phrase can undergo WH MOVEMENT:
     (121) (a)      [To whom] can I send this letter —?
     (121) (b)      [About what] are they quarrelling —?
     (121) (c)      [In which book] did you read about it —?

   • 2014 June 1, “Net Neutrality”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 5, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:

     I love this girl. “On which I can get my hands” — even in her darkest moment, she cannot bring herself to end a sentence with a preposition.

2. (grammar, broad sense) An adposition.
3. (obsolete) A proposition; an exposition; a discourse.
   • 1811 [1516], Robert Fabyan, edited by Sir Henry Ellis, The New Chronicles of England and France‎, page 116:

     […] he made a longe preposicion & oracion cōcernynge yͤ allegiaūce which he exortyd his lordes to owe

• (grammar, strict sense): adposition

• (grammar, strict sense): circumposition
• (grammar, strict sense): postposition

• preverb

pre- +‎ position

• pre-position

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːpəˌzɪʃən/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

preposition (third-person singular simple present prepositions, present participle prepositioning, simple past and past participle prepositioned)

1. To place in a location before some other event occurs.

   It is important to preposition the material before turning on the machine.

preposition

1. genitive singular of prepositio

preposition (plural prepositiones)

1. (grammar) A word that is used in conjunction with a noun or pronoun in order to form a phrase.

preposition c

1. a preposition (part of speech)

• prepositionell
• prepositionsadverbial
• prepositionsattribut
• prepositionsuttryck

• preposition in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)