Posterior
/pɒˈstɪə.ri.ər/noun
Situated behind or toward the rear; in anatomy, the back side of a body or structure.
Did you know?Posterior comes from Latin *posterior*, the comparative of *post* (“after, behind”), and it originally had nothing to do with anatomy at all — just pure direction and sequence.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pós
“behind, after”
Latin
Latin
post
“after, behind”
Latin
Latin
posterior
“the later or farther part; the one behind”
Late Latin
Latin
posterior
“hind part; later in time or place”
Middle English
English
posterior
“the rear part; the back side”
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