A word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence, typically indicating location, direction, or time. Examples include 'in,' 'on,' 'under,' and 'before.'
From Latin 'prae-' (before) + 'ponere' (to place) + '-tion' (action/result) → 'praepositio' meaning 'a placing before.' The term was coined by Latin grammarians because these words are typically placed before nouns, and it entered Middle English through Old French as a grammatical term.
The word 'preposition' is wonderfully self-descriptive - it literally means 'placed before' because prepositions are placed before nouns! Just like 'proposition' (something placed forward) and 'supposition' (something placed under as an assumption), it shows how 'ponere' built our vocabulary for positioning ideas and words.
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