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postpone

UK[pəʊstˈpəʊn]US[poʊstˈpoʊn]
v

to arrange for something to happen at a later time than originally planned

v

to cause or arrange for something to be considered or dealt with at a later time

Morpheme Breakdown

post
pone
post

after

pone

to put

Etymology

the word "postpone" entered english in the late 15th century from latin 'postponere', a compound of 'post-' (after) and 'ponere' (to put, place). the literal meaning, "to put after," was used both spatially and temporally in latin. the temporal sense, "to put off to a later time," became dominant as the word passed through french and into middle english. the logic of the word's formation is transparent: to "post-pone" an event is to figuratively place it after its originally scheduled point in time.

Analysis

Structure: post (after) + pone (to put) post: from latin 'post', meaning "after, behind". a prefix indicating position in time or space. pone: from latin 'ponere', meaning "to put, to place". a verb root.

Examples

the meeting has been postponed until next week.

they decided to postpone their vacation due to the bad weather forecast.

he had to postpone making a decision until he had more information.

postpone – Meaning, Etymology & Word Origin | OpenEtymology