Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Prostration?

\Pros*tra"tion\, n. [L. prostratio: cf. F. prostration.] 1. The act of prostrating, throwing down, or laying fiat; as, the prostration of the body. 2. The act of falling down, or of bowing in humility or adoration; primarily, the act of falling on the face, but usually applied to kneeling or bowing in reverence and worship. A greater prostration of reason than of body. --Shak. 3. The condition of being prostrate; great depression; lowness; dejection; as, a postration of spirits. ``A sudden prostration of strength.'' --Arbuthnot. 4. (Med.) A latent, not an exhausted, state of the vital energies; great oppression of natural strength and vigor. Note: Prostration, in its medical use, is analogous to the state of a spring lying under such a weight that it is incapable of action; while exhaustion is analogous to the state of a spring deprived of its elastic powers. The word, however, is often used to denote any great depression of the vital powers.