English

Adjective

apposite ‎(comparative more apposite, superlative most apposite)

1. Strikingly appropriate or relevant; well-suited to the circumstance or in relation to something.
   • c.1833-1856, Andrew Carrick, John Addington Symonds (editors), Medical Topography of Bristol, in Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association/Volume 2/3,

     Medical Topography would be the most apposite title, since it comprehends the principal objects of investigation; […] .

   • 1857, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, book 1, chapter 23

     Flora, however, received the remark as if it had been of a most apposite and agreeable nature; approvingly observing aloud that Mr F.’s Aunt had a great deal of spirit.

   • 1919, H. L. Mencken, The American Language: An inquiry into the development of English in the United States, Chapter 15: The Expanding Vocabulary,

     Rough-neck is a capital word; it is more apposite and savory than the English navvy, and it is over-whelmingly more American.

2. Positioned at rest in respect to another, be it side-to-side, front-to-front, back-to-back, or even three-dimensionally: in apposition.
   • 1971, University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Volume 34, page 262,

     In other words, they are used to name, rather than to describe. They are apposite nouns and not adjectives.

3. Related, homologous.
   • 2000, David Skeele, "All That Monarchs Do": The Obscured Stages of Authority in Pericles, in Pericles: Critical Essays,

     If the shift in theatrical setting and the shift in dramaturgy are at all related, they are apposite developments, independent yet homologous signs of a changing political and cultural climate.

Related terms

• appositely
• appositeness
• apposition

Translations

Noun

apposite ‎(plural apposites)

1. (rare) Something that is apposite
   • 1901, Charles L. Marson, Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln:

     Hugh gave the boy apples or other small apposites […] , but the child was too interested in the bishop to notice the gifts.

References

1. 1 2 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apposite
2. ↑ http://media.merriam-webster.com/soundc11/a/apposi01

See also

• opposite

Italian

Adjective

apposite

1. feminine plural of apposito

Latin

Participle

apposite

1. vocative masculine singular of appositus

References

• apposite in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• apposite in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers