position

See also: Position

English

Etymology

From Middle English posicioun, from Old French posicion, from Latin positiō (“a putting, position”), from positus (“placed, situated”), past participle of pōnō (“to place”); see ponent. Compare apposition, composition, deposition; see pose.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pəˈzɪʃ.(ə)n/
• (General American) enPR: pə-zĭshʹ(ə)n, IPA^(key): /pəˈzɪʃ.(ə)n/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Rhymes: -ɪʃən
• Hyphenation (UK): po‧si‧tion, pos‧i‧tion, (US): po‧si‧tion

Noun

position (plural positions)

1. A place or location.

   Synonym: (obsolete) stead

   • 1960 December, “Talking of Trains: Recording Electric Operation”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 707:

     Train positions and speeds were established by a track magnet at each milepost, which produced a suitable mark on the punched recording tape whenever a train passed.

2. A post of employment; a job.
3. A status or rank.

   Chief of Staff is the second-highest position in the army.

4. An opinion, stand, or stance.

   My position on this issue is unchanged.

   • 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce:

     The cause therfore of divorce expres’t in the position cannot but agree with that describ’d in the best and equalest sense of Moses Law.

5. A posture.

   Stand in this position, with your arms at your side.

7. (figurative) A situation suitable to perform some action.

   The school is not in a position to provide day-care after 4:00 pm.

8. (team sports) A place on the playing field, together with a set of duties, assigned to a player.

   Stop running all over the field and play your position!

9. (finance) An amount of securities, commodities, or other financial instruments held by a person, firm, or institution.

   long position

   naked position

   • 2011, Brian Dolan, Currency Trading For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 253:

     For example, at 50:1 leverage, if you're holding a $100,000 position in USD/CHF, you'll need to have at least $2,000 of available margin to hold the position ([$100,000 ÷ 100] × 0.50 = $500).

10. (finance) A commitment, or a group of commitments, such as options or futures, to buy or sell a given amount of financial instruments, such as securities, currencies or commodities, for a given price.
11. (arithmetic) A method of solving a problem by one or two suppositions; also called the rule of trial and error.
12. (chess) The full state of a chess game at any given turn.
13. (poker) The order in which players are seated around the table.
14. (electronics) A pin; a connector.

Hyponyms

• anatomical position
• body position
• bubble position
• closed position
• code position
• cowgirl position
• developmental position
• eccentric position
• fetal position
• fielding position
• fifth position
• first position
• fourth position
• Fowler's position
• hinge position
• human position
• key position
• lithotomy position
• long position
• lotus position
• missionary position
• naked position
• net position
• neutral position
• occlusal position
• open position
• overnight position
• pole position
• position of trust
• post position
• preferred position
• prone position
• protrusive position
• qualifying position
• recovery position
• sacroanterior position
• second position
• serial position effect
• sex position
• short position
• Sims position
• Sims' position
• sniffing-the-morning-air position
• spoons position
• statutory position
• third position
• Trendelenburg position
• Yoga position

Derived terms

Prefixed forms

• adposition
• ambiposition
• bipositionality
• circumposition
• contraposition
• counterposition
• dextroposition
• extraposition
• foreposition
• geoposition
• infraposition
• juxtaposition, juxta-position
• like-positioned
• malposition
• midposition
• misposition
• multiposition
• outposition
• paleoposition
• postposition
• preposition
• reposition
• retroposition

Suffixed forms

• positionable → positionability
• positional → positionally
• positionless
• possie, pozzy

Compound words and expressions

• assume the position
• cash position
• crucifix position
• early position
• emergency position indicating radiobeacon
• emergency position indicating radio-beacon
• emergency position indicating radio beacon
• estimated position
• hollow (body) position
• jockey for position
• late position
• make position
• middle position
• orthopneic position
• podium position
• position argument
• position effect
• position limit
• position of strength
• position paper
• position sense
• position trader, position trading
• position vector
• put someone in a false position
• reverse cowgirl position
• root position
• sniffing position
• support position
• take a position
• take position
• thumb position
• tripod position

Related terms

• ponent
• pose
• posish
• posit
• positional
• positive

Translations

place, location

Arabic: مَوْقِع (ar) m (mawqiʕ) Egyptian Arabic: مكان m (makān) Armenian: դիրք (hy) (dirkʻ) Azerbaijani: mövqe (az) Bashkir: вазифа (vazifa) Belarusian: палажэ́нне n (palažénnje), пазі́цыя f (pazícyja), стано́вішча n (stanóvišča) Bengali: অবস্থান (bn) (ôbosthan) Bulgarian: местоположе́ние (bg) n (mestopoložénie), място (bg) n (mjasto) Burmese: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin: 位置 (zh) (wèizhì) Czech: pozice (cs), umístění (cs) Danish: position (da) c, plads (da) c Dutch: positie (nl) f Esperanto: pozicio, loko Faroese: støða f Finnish: paikka (fi), asema (fi), sijainti (fi), sija (fi), olinpaikka (fi) French: position (fr) f Galician: posición (gl) f Georgian: მდებარეობა (mdebareoba), პოზიცია (ṗozicia) German: Stellung (de) f, Position (de) f Greek: θέση (el) f (thési) Hebrew: מִקּוּם (he) m (míkum) Hindi: स्थान (hi) m (sthān) Hungarian: helyzet (hu) Italian: posizione (it) f Japanese: 位置 (ja) (いち, ichi) Khmer: ទីតាំង (tii tang) Korean: 위치(位置) (ko) (wichi) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: şûn (ku), cîgeh Central Kurdish: شوێن (şwên), جێگا (cêga) Lao: ຕຳແໜ່ງ (tam nǣng) Latin: positiō f, situs (la) m, status (la) m Latvian: pozīcija f, stāvoklis m Macedonian: позиција f (pozicija), положба f (položba) Malay: kedudukan (ms) Malayalam: സ്ഥാനം (ml) (sthānaṁ) Maori: tūnga, tūranga, taunga Norwegian: Bokmål: posisjon m, plassering (no) m or f Ottoman Turkish: مكان (mekân) Persian: مکان (fa) (makân), جایگاه (fa) (jâygâh), جای (fa) (jây), موقعیت (fa) (mowqe'iyat) Plautdietsch: Städ f Polish: pozycja (pl) f, położenie (pl) n Portuguese: posição (pt) f Romanian: poziție (ro) Russian: положе́ние (ru) n (položénije), пози́ция (ru) f (pozícija) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̀зӣција f, по̏ложа̄ј m, лока́ција f Roman: pòzīcija (sh) f, pȍložāj (sh) m, lokácija (sh) f Slovak: pozícia f Slovene: položaj m Spanish: posición (es) f Swedish: position (sv) c, plats (sv) c, läge (sv) n Tajik: макон (makon), ҷойгоҳ (joygoh), ҷой (joy), мавқеъ (mavqe') Thai: ตำแหน่ง (th) (dtam-nɛ̀ng) Tigrinya: ኣቀማምጣ (ʾaḳämamṭa) Ukrainian: поло́ження n (polóžennja), стано́вище n (stanóvyšče), пози́ція (uk) f (pozýcija) Uzbek: joy (uz) Vietnamese: vị trí (vi)

post of employment

Arabic: مَنْصِب (ar) m (manṣib) Armenian: պաշտոն (hy) (pašton) Belarusian: паса́да f (pasáda) Bulgarian: длъ́жност (bg) f (dlǎ́žnost), пост (bg) m (post) Chinese: Mandarin: 職務 / 职务 (zh) (zhíwù), 職位 / 职位 (zh) (zhíwèi) Dutch: positie (nl) f Esperanto: posteno Finnish: paikka (fi), asema (fi), työpaikka (fi) French: poste (fr) m Georgian: თანამდებობა (tanamdeboba) German: Arbeitsplatz (de) m, Stelle (de) f Hebrew: תַּפְקִיד (he) m (tafqíd), מִשְׂרָה (he) f (misra) Hindi: पद (hi) m (pad), पदवी (hi) f (padvī) Italian: posto (it) m, lavoro (it) Kazakh: лауазым (lauazym) Khmer: តំណែង (km) (tɑmnaeng) Korean: 지위(地位) (ko) (jiwi) Lao: ຕຳແໜ່ງ (tam nǣng) Macedonian: должност f (dolžnost) Malayalam: പദവി (ml) (padavi) Maori: tūranga, nohoanga Persian: جایگاه (fa) (jâygâh) Polish: stanowisko (pl) n, posada (pl) f Portuguese: cargo (pt) m Romanian: funcție (ro) f, poziție (ro) f Russian: до́лжность (ru) (dólžnostʹ) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̀зӣција f, по̏ложа̄ј m Roman: pòzīcija (sh) f, pȍložāj (sh) m Spanish: puesto (es) m Thai: ตำแหน่ง (th) (dtam-nɛ̀ng), อัตรา (th) (àt-dtraa) Ukrainian: поса́да f (posáda) Urdu: پد m (pad) Yiddish: שטעלע f (shtele)

status or rank

Arabic: مَكَانَة f (makāna), رُتْبَة (ar) f (rutba) Armenian: դիրք (hy) (dirkʻ) Azerbaijani: məqam (az), vəzifə (az), rütbə (az) Bulgarian: положе́ние (bg) n (položénie), ранг (bg) m (rang) Czech: postavení (cs) n Finnish: asema (fi), arvo (fi), sija (fi) (e.g. in sports) German: Position (de) f Greek: θέση (el) f (thési) Hebrew: מַעֲמָד (he) m (ma'amád) Hindi: पद (hi) m (pad), पदवी (hi) f (padvī) Irish: (please verify) feidhmeannas m Italian: posizione (it) f Korean: 지위(地位) (ko) (jiwi) Latin: gradus (la), status (la) m Malay: kedudukan (ms) Malayalam: സ്ഥാനം (ml) (sthānaṁ), പദവി (ml) (padavi) Maori: kanoi, tūnga, tūranga Norwegian: Bokmål: posisjon m Persian: جایگاه (fa) (jâygâh) Polish: pozycja (pl) f, miejsce (pl) n Portuguese: posição (pt) f Romanian: poziție (ro) Russian: положе́ние (ru) n (položénije) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̀зӣција f, по̏ложа̄ј m, пла̀сма̄н m Roman: pòzīcija (sh) f, pȍložāj (sh) m, plàsmān (sh) m Swedish: position (sv) c Thai: ตำแหน่ง (th) (dtam-nɛ̀ng)

opinion, stand or stance

Arabic: رَأْي m (raʔy), مَوْقِف m (mawqif) Armenian: դիրքորոշում (hy) (dirkʻorošum) Bulgarian: пози́ция (bg) f (pozícija) Czech: stanovisko (cs) n Dutch: stellingname (nl) c Finnish: kanta (fi), mielipide (fi) German: Position (de) f Greek: θέση (el) f (thési) Ancient: θέσις f (thésis) Hebrew: עֶמְדָּה (he) f ('emdá) Hindi: स्थिति (hi) f (sthiti) Italian: posizione (it) f Malayalam: നിലപാട് (ml) (nilapāṭŭ) Maori: tūranga Persian: نظر (fa) (nazar), دیدگاه (fa) (didgâh) Polish: stanowisko (pl) n Portuguese: posição (pt) f Romanian: poziție (ro) f Russian: пози́ция (ru) f (pozícija) Scottish Gaelic: seasamh m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̏ложа̄ј m Roman: pȍložāj (sh) m Swedish: position (sv) c Thai: จุดยืน (th) (jùt-yʉʉn) Ukrainian: пози́ція (uk) f (pozýcija)

posture

Arabic: جِلْسَة f (jilsa), وَقْفَة f (waqfa), وَضْعِيَّة f (waḍʕiyya) Bulgarian: пози́ция (bg) f (pozícija) Esperanto: pozo (eo) Estonian: asend Finnish: asento (fi) German: Position (de) f Greek: θέση (el) f (thési) Hebrew: תְּנוּחָה f (t'nukhá) Hindi: आसन (hi) m (āsan) Italian: posizione (it) f Korean: 자세(姿勢) (ko) (jase) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: شێوە (ckb) (şêwe) Persian: وضعیت (fa) (vaz'iyyat), ژست (fa) (žest) Polish: pozycja (pl) f Portuguese: posição (pt) f Russian: положе́ние (ru) n (položénije), пози́ция (ru) f (pozícija) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̀зӣција f, по̏ложа̄ј m, постура f Roman: pòzīcija (sh) f, pȍložāj (sh) m, postura f Spanish: postura (es) f Swedish: position (sv) c

situation suitable to perform some action

Bulgarian: позиция (bg) f (pozicija) Finnish: asema (fi)

place on a playing field

Bulgarian: пози́ция (bg) f (pozícija) Catalan: posició (ca) f Finnish: paikka (fi), pelipaikka (fi) French: poste (fr) m Persian: پوزیسیون (pozisiyon) Polish: pozycja (pl) f Portuguese: posição (pt) f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̀зӣција f Roman: pòzīcija (sh) f Swedish: position (sv) c

finance: amount of financial instruments held by someone

Bulgarian: позиция (bg) f (pozicija) Finnish: positio (fi)

finance: commitment to buy or sell in the future

Bulgarian: позиция (bg) f (pozicija) Finnish: positio (fi)

arithmetic: method of solving a problem by one or two suppositions

Bulgarian: метод на предположението m (metod na predpoloženieto) Finnish: yritys ja erehdys

chess: full state of a chess game

Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can Finnish: asema (fi)

poker: order in which players are seated around the table

Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can Finnish: järjestys (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Esperanto: (please verify) pozicio Ido: (please verify) poziciono (io) Interlingua: (please verify) position Italian: (please verify) posizione (it) f Romanian: (please verify) poziție (ro) f

Verb

position (third-person singular simple present positions, present participle positioning, simple past and past participle positioned)

1. To put into place.

   Troponym: pre-position

   • 2012 June 26, Simon Bowers, “Tax crackdowns threaten Channel Islands' haven status”, in The Guardian‎:

     While other small nations with large banking sectors, such as Iceland and Ireland, have been undone by their reckless lending practices, the debt-free Channel Islands have always positioned themselves as dependable repositories of riches.

Synonyms

• stell (obsolete)

Translations

to put into place

Bulgarian: слагам (bg) (slagam), поставям (bg) (postavjam) Finnish: asettaa (fi), sijoittaa (fi), asemoida German: positionieren (de), postieren (de) Greek: τοποθετώ (el) (topothetó) Ancient Greek: τάσσω (tássō), ἀντιτάσσω (antitássō) (position opposite) Italian: piazzare (it), posizionare (it) Japanese: 配置する (ja) (haichi suru), 位置付ける (ja) (ichidukeru) Norwegian: posisjonere, plassere (no) Portuguese: posicionar (pt) Romanian: poziționa (ro) Serbo-Croatian: pozicionirati (sh), smjestiti (sh), položiti (sh) Swedish: placera (sv), placera ut Turkish: yerleştirmek (tr)

Further reading

• “position”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “position”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• position (finance) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• position (geometry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• position (poker) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• sopition

Finnish

Noun

position

1. genitive singular of positio

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French posicion, borrowed from Latin positiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /po.zi.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

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• Audio (France (Paris)):

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• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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Noun

position f (plural positions)

1. position

Derived terms

• camper sur ses positions
• feux de position
• position de tête
• position intéressante
• position latérale de sécurité
• position sexuelle
• prendre position
• prise de position

Further reading

• “position”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔsɪˈɧuːn/
• (Light /ɧ/ variant) IPA^(key): [pɔsɪˈʂuːn]

  • Audio:

    (file)

Noun

position c

1. a place, a location, a position. A description of where something is located with respect to the surroundings, e.g. the satellites of the GPS system.
2. (team sports) a place on the playing field, together with a set of duties, assigned to a player.

Declension

Declension of position

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	position	positions
	definite	positionen	positionens
plural	indefinite	positioner	positioners
	definite	positionerna	positionernas

Related terms

• positionera