prone

[peter123]

Hi there,

I don't understand the following dictionary entry of 'prone'. Could you help me with it?

Prone:
--lying on the front with the face down:
e.g. The photograph showed a man lying prone on the pavement, a puddle of blood about his head.

Question 1
Does it mean 'ONLY the front part of the body lies down' ?
Question 2
What is the difference between 'lie down' and 'prone'?

Question 3
I don't understand the sentence structure of the example.
Does the man lied prone on a puddle of blood or in a puddble of blood?

Why did the writer put 'about his head' before blood? what does 'about' mean here?

Thanks


pete

 

[Anglika]

Hi there,

I don't understand the following dictionary entry of 'prone'. Could you help me with it?

Prone:
--lying on the front with the face down:
e.g. The photograph showed a man lying prone on the pavement, a puddle of blood about his head.

Question 1
Does it mean 'ONLY the front part of the body lies down' ?
Question 2
What is the difference between 'lie down' and 'prone'?

Question 3
I don't understand the sentence structure of the example.
Does the man lied prone on a puddle of blood or in a puddble of blood?

Why did the writer put 'about his head' before blood? what does 'about' mean here?

Thanks


pete

The man is lying flat on the ground [prone] with the blood in a puddle round [about] his head.

You can be prone on either your front or your back.

The sentence implies he has been hit on the head, has fallen forward, is lying flat on the ground, and that his head has been bleeding.

 

[vil]

Hi peter 1,2,3

You can be prone on either your front or your back.

I am not a teacher but I like to pore over.

Lying with the front or face downward.
Lying face downward
having the front or ventral part downward; lying face downward.
lying flat, especially face downwards.

prone: stretched, outstretched, spread, prostrate.
lie (lay, lain, lying): be lying, be in horizontal position
recumbent,
flatway / flatwise: with the flat side down or in contact with a surface

Regards.

V.

 

[peter123]

Hi there,
Thanks a lot.
Just want to ask a question.
Does the front of the body mean the upper part of the body, and the back of the body means the lower part of the body?

If the front of the body means only the front, a man can't lie with the front but not with face down. I mean when a man lie down with the front, he must face down. So the explanation in the dictionary of 'prone': lying with front, facing down' is redudant. Am i right?

Thanks
pete

 

[vil]

Hi Peter 123,

If you think that the heart of the matter lies at the back of the definitions of the words "front" and "back" I am ready to satisfy your curiosity.

front = the forward part or surface, as of a building or a human body
forepart, the anterior part, as of an object or organism

for your information "forward" is opposite of "backward"

anterior = located on or near the front of an organ or an the ventral surface of the body in humans

ventral = relating to or situated on or close to the abdomen

abdomen = the part of the body that lies between the thorax and the pelvis and encloses the stomach, called belly.

back = the posterior portion of the trunk of the human body between the neck and the pelvis; the dorsum

posterior = located behind a part or toward the rear of a structure

Please, keep a close watch on the written words. My definition in my firs post above was " lying with the front or face downward". I think, there is no denying of the fact of the presence of an utmost clarity and crystal accuracy in the definition in question. There is no one superfluous or redundant word.

Regards.

V.

 

[Anglika]

Just want to ask a question.
Does the front of the body mean the upper part of the body, and the back of the body means the lower part of the body?

No - you have a front from the top of your head to your toes, and a back from the top of your head to your heels.

The upper half of your body is your torso, and it has a front and a back.

The lower half of the body has no specific word, is called the lower half of the body, and it too has a front and back.

Thanks
pete

.

 

[peter123]

Hi there,

How can I describe a man lying down with the front, but not face down?

Thanks
pete

 

[Anglika]

How do you mean? Is the man lying with his head turned to one side?