opposite
/ˈɒpəzət/O-puh-zuht
/ˈɑpəzət/AH-puh-zuht
Meaningset against
Common meaning: facing
Other meanings: contrary
- optowards, againstSkeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), p. 359 · scan
- positeto put down, set in placeLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1396 · scan
‘towards, against’ + ‘to put down, set in place’ → opposite
Journey through time
- op — Latin ob- “towards, against” (path traced)
- posite — Latin pōnō, posuī, positum “to put down, set in place” (path traced)
Parts join in Latin as oppositus.
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin oppositus, which Skeat (Concise Dictionary, 1911) analyses as ob- ‘towards, against’ + ponere ‘to put down, set in place’.
Roots
- oppositus Latin “set against”
- pōnō, posuī, positum Latin “to put down, set in place”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app