Prostrated
/ˈprɒs.treɪ.tɪd/noun
Bent or lying flat with the body pressed down, or rendered helpless or exhausted.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin *prosternere*, a physical act of flattening something to the ground—so ancient prayer, submission, and defeat all shared the same body language.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ster-
“to spread, stretch out, or strew”
Latin
Latin
sternere
“to spread out, lay flat, or strew”
Latin
Latin
prosternere
“to throw down in front of, lay flat, or overthrow”
Late Latin
Latin
prostratus
“thrown down, laid low, or overthrown”
Middle English
English
prostraten
“to lay flat, humble, or reduce to helplessness”
Modern English
English
prostrated
“laid flat or reduced to exhaustion or submission”