Supine

A supine is a form in which a verb may appear in some languages.

Supines are used as verbal nouns.

A Latin supine ends in -um (former supine) or in -u (latter supine). In Latin, it is used much in the same way that English infinitives are used. The sentence "I call forth the Gladiators to fight" in Latin becomes " Gladiatores voco pugnatum" (the use of the infinitve in a construction like "Gladiatores voco pugnare" is reserved for poetry). Certain idiomatic expressions also include the supine.

In Slovene, a supine is used after verbs of movement, and is identical to the infinitive except in that it does not include the last letter (-i). See Slovene grammar.

The "supine position" in sleep is when the body is laying face up; more generally, "supine" refers to any upward-facing position, such as referring to a hand position as being supinated (palm upwards). (The opposite, palm downwards, would be pronated.)

See also: gerund