position
part of speech
noun (a position, positions); verb (position, positions, positioned, positioning)
meaning for a pupil
1) A position is the place where someone or something is. tree →
2) Position is the way a body or thing is placed, such as standing, sitting or lying. tree →
3) A position in a race, list or competition is the place you come, like first or second. tree →
4) A position in a team is the role or area a player covers. tree →
5) A position can be a job. tree →
6) To position something means to put it carefully in a place. tree →
7) A position can also mean the situation you are in, especially a difficult one. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Here it means where something is or how it is placed. In the Sefer Yetzirah it is the place of a thing, as the sun looks different from different places. In the numbers essay it means the place of a digit. Interpretation: The writer thinks the place of a digit gives it its value, a way that one becomes many. He links this to the mysterious "harmony" of the Sefer Yetzirah. In the primary lessons: Maths: position words (above, below, left, right, between) and coordinates describe where a point is; place value talks about the position of a digit (the 3 in 352 is in the hundreds position). Science: the position of the sun changes across the sky. PE and sport: goalkeeper is a position. Safety: the recovery position in first aid. Phrases: in position, out of position, the recovery position, first position, in a difficult position.
examples
- Just as the sphere remains the same during the rotation on its axis in its setting and in its rising; yet it appears to us as if it had undergone a great change on account of its different position. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- Did their "harmony" mean the principle of position?' (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
- The principle of position is the "miracle" that makes one, many and many, one. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
- Use a grid to describe the position of the treasure. tree →
- The digit 7 is in the tens position in 175. tree →
- She finished in third position in the race. tree →
- What position do you play? Defender. tree →
- Put the injured person in the recovery position. tree →
- Stay in position until the music starts. tree →
- Dad positioned the ladder against the wall. tree →
- The sun's position changes during the day. tree →
- I might have been in a very disagreeable position." tree →
note
Countable: a position, positions. In maths, the position of a digit gives its value: in 352 the 5 is in the tens position, so it is worth 50. «In a difficult position» means in a hard situation, not a physical place. Spelling: posi-tion, with one s.
In the corpora
- Staying in one position for a long time, sitting or lying, makes muscles stiff and achy.
- A satnav or phone finds its position by timing radio signals from at least four satellites in orbit.
- The Inca kept records with quipu, strings with knots of different colours and positions, to count people, taxes and goods.
- There is no single perfect posture; changing position often and getting up to move about every half hour is good for the body.
- Just standing in an offside position is not an offence; getting involved in play is.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «position» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.