Apposite

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈapÉ™zɪt/
• US IPA: /ˈæpÉ™zɪt/

Origin

From Latin appositus, past participle of adponere, from ad- + ponere ("to put, place").

Full definition of apposite

Adjective

1. Appropriate, relevant, well-suited; fit.
• c.1833-1856, Andrew Carrick, John Addington Symonds (editors), Medical Topography of Bristol, in ,Medical Topography would be the most apposite title, since it comprehends the principal objects of investigation;....
• Dickens Little Dorrit|1|23Flora, however, received the remark as if it had been of a most apposite and agreeable nature; approvingly observing aloud that Mr F.’s Aunt had a great deal of spirit.
• 1919, H. L. Mencken, , Chapter 15: The Expanding Vocabulary,Rough-neck is a capital word; it is more apposite and savory than the English navvy, and it is over-whelmingly more American.
2. Positioned at rest in respect to another, be it side-to-side, front-to-front, back-to-back, or even three-dimensionally: in apposition.
• 1971, University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Volume 34, page 262,In other words, they are used to name, rather than to describe. They are apposite nouns and not adjectives.
3. Related, homologous.
• 2000, David Skeele, "All That Monarchs Do": The Obscured Stages of Authority in Pericles, in Pericles: Critical Essays,If the shift in theatrical setting and the shift in dramaturgy are at all related, they are apposite developments, independent yet homologous signs of a changing political and cultural climate.

Related terms

• apposition

Noun

1. (rare) Something that is apposite
• 1901, Charles L. Marson, Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln Chapter , Hugh gave the boy apples or other small apposites (let us hope it was not apples, or the consequences of such gross ignorance would be equally marvellous) ...
  , but the child was too interested in the bishop to notice the gifts.