entry
opposite
/ˈɑpəzɪt/Located across from; radically different or contrary
From Latin ob- (Against) + Latin ponere (To put).
from Latin oppositus "standing against, opposed, opposite," past participle of opponere "set against,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French opposite , oposite "opposite, contrary" (13c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French opposite , oposite "opposite, contrary" (13c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French opposite , oposite "opposite, contrary" (13c.)
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin oppositus "standing against, opposed, opposite," past participle of opponere "set against,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French opposite , oposite "opposite, contrary" (13c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French opposite , oposite "opposite, contrary" (13c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French opposite , oposite "opposite, contrary" (13c.)
+1 more sourcePicture two Roman objects being shoved into the same narrow doorway: one is put in front of the other, blocking its path. That physical collision is encoded in Latin opponere, built from ob-, “against,” and pōnere, “to put or place”; its participle oppositus meant “standing against.” English picked it up through Old French and Middle English, first for things literally across from one another before extending, by the 1570s, to radically different ideas or qualities. The noun appeared early too, including the sense “an opponent,” while the preposition did not arrive until 1758. The same Latin placing-root still sits visibly in position, pose, compose, impose, and propose—so an opposite is, etymologically, not merely different but something placed directly in your way.
The Story
Picture two Roman objects being shoved into the same narrow doorway: one is put in front of the other, blocking its path. That physical collision is encoded in Latin opponere, built from ob-, “against,” and pōnere, “to put or place”; its participle oppositus meant “standing against.” English picked it up through Old French and Middle English, first for things literally across from one another before extending, by the 1570s, to radically different ideas or qualities. The noun appeared early too, including the sense “an opponent,” while the preposition did not arrive until 1758. The same Latin placing-root still sits visibly in position, pose, compose, impose, and propose—so an opposite is, etymologically, not merely different but something placed directly in your way.
Modern Usage
An anti, reversed, rivaling, or maximally different version of something
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describing ‘opposite’ as an anti, reversed, or rivaling version
Kin & Kindred
From 'ob-'·Against, in front of, or in the way of
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'ponere'·To put, set, or place
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia