Etymograph

English

postpose

Postpose comes from French postposer ‘to postpose’, from Latin postpono ‘to place after: a’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pós.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pós1‘afterwards, post-’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pósti1‘after’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*posti1‘behind, after’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEposte1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnō1‘place, put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpostpono2as postponere‘to place after: a’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentpostposer3‘to postpose’
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1662postpose3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin postpono
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French postposer
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English postpose
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1662, Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England: “kings are postposed to bishops”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pósWiktionary, Latin postpono‘afterwards, post-’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*póstiWiktionary, Latin postpono‘after’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*postiWiktionary, Latin postpono‘behind, after’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEposteWiktionary, Latin postpono
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpōnōWiktionary, Latin postpono‘place, put’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpostponoWiktionary, French postposeras postponere‘to place after: a’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentpostposerWiktionary, English postpose‘to postpose’
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1662postposeWiktionary, English postpose. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1662, Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England: “kings are postposed to bishops”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *posti ‘behind, after’

posterior, posthumous, 5 more

through Old Latin poste

posterity, 5 more

through Latin pōnō ‘place, put’

position, positive, purpose, opposite, opponent, consolation, propose, expose, repository, posture, proponent, dispose, compose, exponent, compost, expound, posit, pone, presuppose, impost, 51 more

Today it means

verb To place (a word or phrase) after another in a sentence, especially in order to modify it

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “postpose”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin postpono, French postposer. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pós / postpose

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