post

pronunciation

How to pronounce post in British English: UK [pəʊst]word uk audio image

How to pronounce post in American English: US [poʊst] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    the position where someone (as a guard or sentry) stands or is assigned to stand
    military installation at which a body of troops is stationed
    a job in an organization
    an upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position
    any particular collection of letters or packages that is delivered
    a pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track)
    the system whereby messages are transmitted via the post office
    the delivery and collection of letters and packages
  • Verb:
    affix in a public place or for public notice
    publicize with, or as if with, a poster
    assign to a post; put into a post
    assign to a station
    display, as of records in sports games
    enter on a public list
    transfer (entries) from one account book to another
    ride Western style and bob up and down in the saddle in in rhythm with a horse's trotting gait
    mark with a stake
    put up
    cause to be directed or transmitted to another place
    mark or expose as infamous

Word Origin

post
post: Including the prefix post-, English has four different words post. The oldest, ‘long upright piece of wood, metal, etc’ [OE], was borrowed from Latin postis. From it was derived the verb post ‘fix to a post’, which in turn produced poster [19], denoting a placard that can be ‘posted’ up. Post ‘mail’ [16] comes via French poste and Italian posta from Vulgar Latin *posta, a contracted version of posita, the feminine form of the past participle of Latin pōnere ‘put, place’ (source of English position).The notion underlying the sense ‘mail’ is of riders ‘placed’ or stationed at intervals along a road so as to carry letters at speed by a relay system. Post ‘job’ [16] reached English via a very similar route, this time from the neuter form of the Latin past participle, positum. This became *postum in Vulgar Latin, which produced Italian posto, French poste, and English post.Here again the word’s original meaning, ‘position where a soldier is placed’, reflects that of its Latin source pōnere. The prefix post- comes from the Latin preposition post ‘after’. It occurs in a number of English words that go back to Latin ancestors (including posterior [16], posthumous, postpone [16], postscript [16], and the more heavily disguised preposterous), as well as being widely used to create new coinages (such as postgraduate [19] and postwar [20]).=> position
post (adv.)
1540s, "with post horses," hence, "rapidly;" especially in the phrase to ride post "go rapidly," from post (n.3).
post (n.1)
"a timber set upright," from Old English post "pillar, doorpost," and Old French post "post, upright beam," both from Latin postis "door, post, doorpost," perhaps from por- "forth" (see pro-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, set down, make or be firm" (see stet). Similar compound in Sanskrit prstham "back, roof, peak," Avestan parshti "back," Greek pastas "porch in front of a house, colonnade," Middle High German virst "ridepole," Lithuanian pirstas, Old Church Slavonic pristu "finger" (PIE *por-st-i-).
post (n.2)
"place when on duty," 1590s, from Middle French poste "place where one is stationed," also, "station for post horses" (16c.), from Italian posto "post, station," from Vulgar Latin *postum, from Latin positum, neuter past participle of ponere "to place, to put" (see position (n.)). Earliest sense in English was military; meaning "job, position" is attested 1690s.
post (n.3)
"mail system," c. 1500, "riders and horses posted at intervals," from post (n.2) on notion of riders and horses "posted" at intervals along a route to speed mail in relays, probably formed on model of Middle French poste in this sense (late 15c.). Meaning "system for carrying mail" is from 1660s.
post (v.4)
"to put up bail money," 1781, from one of the nouns post, but which one is uncertain. Related: Posted; posting.
post (v.1)
"to affix (a paper, etc.) to a post" (in a public place), hence, "to make known," 1630s, from post (n.1). Related: Posted; posting.
post (v.2)
in bookkeeping, "to transfer from a day book to a formal account," 1620s, from post (n.2) via a figurative sense of "carrying" by post horses. Related: Posted; posting.
post (v.3)
"to send through the postal system," 1837, from post (n.3). Earlier, "to travel with relays of horses" (1530s). Related: Posted; posting.
post (v.5)
"to station at a post," from post (n.2). Related: Posted; posting.

Example

1. The news drove washington post stock tuesday to a 52-week high .
2. Under the terms of the deal , the washington post company will change its name .
3. Mr. wang was removed from his post this month .
4. An american example here concerns privatizing the post office .
5. This is not an anti-success or anti-wealth post .

more: >How to Use "post" with Example Sentences