Poseideon 
Poseideon (po-si'de-on), w. [Gr. \\oatiSfuv: see 
dct'.] Tlio sixth mouth of the ancient Athenian 
year, corresponding to the latter half of our De- 
cember and the first half of January. 
Poseidon (po-si'don), w. [< Gr. llooeiiiJv: see 
ilef.J 1. lii Gr. myth., one of the chief Olym- 
pians, brother of Zeus, and supreme lord of the 
sea, sometimes looked upon as a benignant pro- 
moter of calm and prosperous navigation, but 
more often as a terrible god of storm. HU con- 
gurt was the Nereid Ampuitrite, and hia attendant train 
Poseidon overwhelming the giant Polytiotes, for whom Ge or Gaia 
(on the left) makes intercession. (From a Greek rud-ri^urc.l v.isc of 
the 4th century B. . . 
was composed of Nereids, Tritons, and sea-monsters of 
every form. In art he is a majestic figure, closely ap- 
proaching Zeus in type. His most constant attributes are 
the trident and the dolphin, with the horse, which he was 
reputed to have created during his contest with Athena 
for supremacy in Attica. The original Roman or Italic 
Neptune became assimilated to him. 
2. In zool.: (a) A genus of worms. (6) A genus 
of hemipterous insects of the family Hcutellcr- 
idee. Siiellcn, 1863. (c) A genus of crustaceans. 
Poseidonian (pp-sl-do'ni-an), a. [< Gr. n<xTH- 
<!up(0f, of Poseidon (< lloaetifov, Poseidon), + 
-an.] Of or pertaining to Poseidon. 
Poseidon, the great and swarthy race-god of the South. 
is readily enough conceived of as coming into conflict witli 
Zeus, when Immigrants arriving in the country bring with 
them a 1'oseidonian worship. 
Uladstone, Contemporary Rev., LI. 7(W. 
poser (po' zer), n. [</wwr 3 -I- -rr 1 .] 1. One who 
poses or puts questions ; one who questions or 
interrogates closely; an examiner. 
Let his questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for 
a poser. Bacon, Discourse (ed. 1887). 
The university [of Cambridge] . . . appointed Doctor 
Cranmer (afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury) to be the 
porer-general of all candidates in Divinity. 
Fuller, Worthies, Norfolk, II. 482. 
2. A question that poses or puzzles ; a puzzling 
or difficult question or matter. 
"What do you think women are good for?" "That 's a 
postr." C. D. Warner, Backlog Studies, p. nil. 
posied (po'zid), a. [< post/ + -erf 2 .] Inscribed 
with a posy or motto. 
Some by a strip of woven hair 
In posied lockets bribe the fair. 
Gay, To a Voting Lady, with some lampreys. 
posit (poz'it), r. t. [< L. positus, pp. of ponere, 
place: see position.] 1. To dispose, range, or 
place in relation to other objects. 
That the principle that sets on work these organs and 
worketh by them is nothing else but the modification of 
matter, or the natural motion thereof, thus or thus posited 
or disposed, is most apparently false. 
Sir M. llale, Orig. of Mankind, p. 49. 
2. To lay down as a position or principle; as- 
sume as real or conceded; present as a fact; 
affirm. 
In positiny pure orabsolute existence as a mental datum, 
immediate, intuitive, and above proof, he mistakes the 
t:i, t. Sir W. Hamilton. 
When it is said that the ego pittite itself, the meaning is 
that tin' ego becomes a fact of consciousness, which it can 
only become through the antithesis of the non-ego. 
Chamber* t Encyc. 
position (po-zish'on). n. [< P. position = Sp. 
piisii-ian = Pg. pcwi'ffTo = It. posizionc, < L. po- 
sitio(n-), a putting, position, < poncre, pp. posi- 
tus, put, place: see poncitt. Cf. apposition, 
riinipnsitioii. ib-position, and the similar verbs 
iippiw, riiiiijxtse. ilepose, etc.: see jjosf 2 .] 1. 
The aggregate of spatial relations of a body or 
figure, considered as rigid, to other such bodies 
or figures ; t lie tlefiuit ion of the place of a thing ; 
situation. 
We have different prospects of the same thing accord- 
ing U> our ditferunt yxwfi'fY'mx to it. Lock?. 
4635 
The absolute position of the parties has heen altered ; 
the relative pitsitiitn remains unchanged. 
Macaulay, War of the Succession in Spain. 
Porilian, Wren said, is essential to the perfecting of 
beauty; a fine building is lost in a dark lane; a statue 
should stand in the air. fc'i/wmun, Woman. 
The exceptional miracles were those of exorcism, which 
occupied a very singular ponton in the early Church. 
Leety, Europ. Morals, I. 4O4. 
Hence 2. Status or standing; social rank or 
condition: as, social position; & man of posit ion. 
Such changes as gave women not merely an advisory 
but an authoritative position on this and similar hoards. 
ff. A. Ken., CXXXIX. 409. 
3. The act of positiugorasserting; also, the as- 
sertion itself ; affirmation; principle laid down. 
From Gods word 1'me sure you never tooke 
Such damnable positions. 
Times' Whittle (E. E. T. S.), p. 12. 
In order to be a truly eloquent or persuasive speaker, 
nothing is more necessary than to be a virtuous man. This 
was a favourite position among the ancient rhetoricians. 
// Hair, Rhetoric, xxxlv. 
4. A place occupied or to be occupied, (a) 
Mini., tne ground occupied by a body of troops prepara- 
tory to making or receiving an attack, (6) An oRlce ; a 
post ; a situation : as, a position in a bank. (<) In mime . 
(1) The disposition of the tones of a triad or other chord 
with reference to the lowest voice-part the first, original, 
or fundamental position having the root of the chord in 
that part, tile secoml position having the next or second 
tone of the chord there, etc. , and all positions except the 
first being also culled inverted position* or inversions. (-) 
The disposition of the tones of a triad or other chord with 
reference to their nearness to each other, ./...* position 
having the tones so near together that an outer voice-part 
cannot be transposed so as to fall between two middle 
parts, and open or distn-Tsed position being the reverse of 
this. See open and clote harmony, under harmony, 2 (d). 
(3) In viol-playing, same as shiit . 
5. Posture or manner of standing, sitting, or 
lying; attitude: as, an uneasy position. 
Miss Eyre, draw yourchalr still a little farther forward ; 
you are yet too far back : I can not see you without dis- 
turbing my ixijn'(to/i in this comfortable chair, which I have 
no mind to do. Charlotte Briintr, Jane Eyre, xiv. 
6. Place; proper or appropriate place : as, his 
lance was in position; specifically (milit.), the 
proper place to make or receive an attack. 
As I expected, the enemy was found In potation on the 
l!lg Illack. U. S. (jrant, 1'ersonal .Memoirs, I. 528. 
7. In ai'itli., the act of assumingan approximate 
value for an unknown quantity, and thence de- 
termining that quantity by means of the data 
of a given question. A value of the unknown quan- 
tity is' posited or assumed, and then, by means of the given 
connection between the unknown and a known quantity, 
from the assumed value of the unknown a value of the 
known is calculated. A new value of the unknown is then 
assumed, so as to make the error les*. In the rule of rim- 
pie, position, only one assumption is made at the outset, 
and this is corrected by the rule of three. In the far su- 
perior rule of daiMipodtim, two values are assumed, and 
the corrected value of the unknown is ascertained by the 
solution of a linear equation. Al.so called the rule of sup- 
position, rule of false, and rule of trial ami error. 
8. lii lixjic, the lay ing down of a proposition, gen- 
erally an arbitrary supposition ; also, the propo- 
sition itself. Thus, in the school disputations, theop 
ponent would say : " Pono that a man says that he is lying. 
I'h. n this act, as well as the propoaltlon so advanced, Is a 
porition. 
9. In anc. pros., the situation of a vowel be- 
fore two or more consonants or a double con- 
sonant, tending to retard utterance and conse- 
quently to lengthen the syllable; such com- 
bination of consonants, or the prosodic effect 
produced by it. A short vowel so situated Is said to 
be tn position, the syllable to be lony by position, and 
the consonants to make position. A mute with succeed- 
ing liquid does not always make position, and the situa- 
tion of a short vowel before such a combination, or the 
combination itself, is known as treat position. 
10. In obstet., the relation between the body of 
the fetus and the pelvis of the mother in any 
given presentation. There arc in vertex presentations 
four positions, named according to the direction of the oc- 
ciput, which the fetal head may occupy: (l)ftnt or left 
oceipitocotyloid position, in which the occiput points to 
the left foramen ovale the most frequent position; (2) 
second or riyht occipitocotyloid position, in which the occi- 
put points to the right foramen ovale ; (S) third or riyht 
gacro-iliac position, in which the occiput points to the right 
sacro-iliac synchondrosis ; (4) fourth or left occipito-tacro- 
iliac position, in which the occiput points to the left sacro- 
iliac synchondrosis. See presentation* , 6. Absolute po- 
sition, apparent position. See the adjectives. Angle 
of position, in axrrrm,, the angle which the line joining 
two neighlwring celestial objects makes with the hour- 
circle passing through that one of the two which is re- 
garded as the principal one, and is taken as the point of 
reference. The angle Is reckoned from the north point 
through the east, counter-clockwise, completely around 
the circumference. Center Of position, the same as the 
center of gravity and center of inertia: but when a body 
is viewed as composed of physical points, and the center 
of gravity Is considered in relation to their positions, 
geometers designate that point the center of position. 
Contrariety of position, see contrariety. Eastward 
position, see eattirnnt. - Energy of position, s, , 
fnerji/,7.- GeograpMcal position. '"'rt. 
Geometry of position, see >.><("/. Guns of posi- 
tion. See ./mi i Inverted position. See def. 4 (c) (1). 
positive 
- Long by position. Seetonpi. Mean position. See 
tiwan-. Original position, in muric, that disposition of 
the tone* of a triad or chord In which the root is at the 
bottom : opposed to inversion or inverted position.- Posi- 
tion angle. See angle*. =Syn. 1. Station, spot, locality, 
post 3. Thesis, assertion, doctrine. 5. Attitude, Pott, 
etc. See posture. 
position (po-zish'on), r. /. [< position, .] To 
place with relation to other objects; set in a 
definite place. 
They are al ways positioned so that they stand upon a solid 
angle with the " basal plane." Eneye. Brit., XVI. 348. 
positional (l>o-zish'on-al),rt. [(.position + -al. ] 
Of or pertaining to position; relating to or de- 
pending 011 position. 
A strange conceit, ascribing unto plants positional opera- 
tions, and after the manner of the loadstone. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., II. 7. 
position-finder (po-/.ish'on-fin*der), . An ar- 
rangement of apparatus whereby a gunner may 
point a cannon to the exact position of an ob- 
ject not visible to him. In the form now used In the 
I'nlted States army, the region within range Is accurately 
mapped and laid out in squares, and the elevation corre- 
sponding to each square is tabulated. Two telescopes at 
distant stations are electrically connected with movable 
bars which are so arranged over the map that the direc- 
tion of each corresponds to that of its controlling tele- 
scope. When both telescopes are directed to the object 
the two bars cross each other over the square in which 
the object is. and thus the gunner, knowing the horizontal 
position and the range, can accurately direct his tire. 
Compare ranye-jiiuter. 
position-micrometer (po-zish'on-mi-krom'e- 
ter), H. A micrometer for measuring angles 
of position (see angle of position, under posi- 
tion), which are read upon a graduated circle. 
It has a single thread, or a pair of parallel threads, which 
can be revolved around the common focus of the ubject- 
glass and eye glass in a plane perpendicular to the axis of 
the telescope. 
positive (poz'i-tiv), a. and n. [< ME. posilif (= 
I), posittef = G. Sw. Dan. positir), < OF. (and 
F. ) positij'= Sp. Pg. It. positiro, < L. poxitirus, 
settled by arbitrary appointment or agreement, 
positive, < positus, pp. of ponrre, put : see posi- 
tion.] I. . 1. Laid down as a proposition: 
affirmed; stated; express: as, a pnsilire decla- 
ration. 2. Of an affirmative nature; possess- 
ing definite characters of its own ; of a kind to 
excite sensation or be otherwise directly ex- 
perienced; not negative. Thus, light is posi- 
tire, darkness negative; man is post tire, non- 
man negative. 
To him. as to his uncle, the exercise of the mind in ills- 
cussion was a positive pleasure. Macaulait. 
The force of what seems a jmritirt desire for an object is 
in many cases derived from a negative desire or aversion 
to some correlative pnin. 
J. Sully, Outlines of I'sychol., p. Ml. 
3. Arbitrarily laid down; determined by dec- 
laration, enactment, or convention, and not 
by nature: opposed to natural. Thus, the phe- 
nomenon of onomatopifia shows that words arc In some 
degree natural, and not altogether pan/ire; so, positive 
law, pitntive theology. IThis sense, the original one in 
Latin, is a translation of Greek Otatt. | 
4. Imperative; laid down as a command to be 
followed without question or discretion: as, 
jMisitirc orders. 
In laws, that which is natural blndeth universally; that 
which \* positive, not so. . . . Although no laws but prm'- 
lirr are mutable, yet all are not mutable which be positive. 
Hooker. 
5. Unquestionable; indubitable; certain; hence, 
experiential. 
"1'isjwnfir* against all exceptions, lords, 
That our superfluous lackeys . . . were enow 
To purge this field of such a hildfng foe. 
Shak., lien. V., IT. 2. 25. 
The unity and identity of structure In an organism i 
which a law of action maybe inferred form the condition 
of positive science. 
K. Midfard, The Nation, The Foundation of Ciril Order, i. 
6. Confident ; fully assured. 
I am sometimes doubting when I might be positive. 
Jtyiner. 
7. Over-con fldent in opinion and assertion: 
dogmatic. 
Some positive persisting fops we know, 
That, If once wrong, will needs be always to. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, L 5C8. 
Where men of judgment creep and feel their way, 
The positive pronounce without dismay. 
Cinrper, Conversation. 
8t. Actually or really officiating or discharging 
the duties of an office. 
I was, according to the Grand Signior his commande- 
ment, very courteously Interteined by Peter, his potitiue 
prince. UaUuyfs Voyayet, II. 289. 
9. Not reversed, (a) Greater than lero; not mea- 
sured in a reversed direction : signifying the absence of 
such reversal. (b) In photoy., representing lights by 
lights and shades by shades, and not the reverse, (c) Be- 
ing that one of two opposite kinds which is arbitrarily 
considered as first : as, poritivf electricity. In all these 
sense* opposed to neyattve. 
