Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Prostrate

Prostrate , adjective

[Latin prostratus, past participle of prosternere to prostrate; pro before, forward + sternere to spread out, throw down. See Stratum.]

1.
Lying at length, or with the body extended on the ground or other surface; stretched out; as, to sleep prostrate. — Elyot
Groveling and prostrate on yon lake of fire. — Milton
2.
Lying at mercy, as a supplicant. — Dryden
3.
Lying in a humble, lowly, or suppliant posture.
Prostrate fall Before him reverent, and there confess Humbly our faults. — Milton
4.
(Botany) Trailing on the ground; procumbent.

Prostrate , transitive verb

1.
To lay fiat; to throw down; to level; to fell; as, to prostrate the body; to prostrate trees or plants. — Evelyn
2.
to overthrow; to demolish; to destroy; to deprive of efficiency; to ruin; as, to prostrate a village; to prostrate a government; to prostrate law or justice.
3.
To throw down, or cause to fall in humility or adoration; to cause to bow in humble reverence; used reflexively; as, he prostrated himself. — Milman
4.
To cause to sink totally; to deprive of strength; to reduce; as, a person prostrated by fever.