ˌapəˈzishən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English apposicioun, from Medieval Latin apposition-, appositio, from Late Latin, act of setting before, from Latin appositus (past participle of apponere ) + -ion-, -io -ion
1.
a. : a grammatical construction that consists of two nouns or noun equivalents referring to the same person or thing, standing in the same syntactical relation to the rest of the sentence without being joined to each other by a coordinating conjunction, and typically adjacent to each other (as the poet and Burns in “a biography of the poet Burns”, my sister and Jane in “this is my sister Jane”, John and a bashful child in “John, a bashful child, was afraid of strangers”, or the fact and that he is rich in “the fact that he is rich is obvious”)
b. : the relation of one of such a pair of nouns or noun equivalents to the other, especially of the second to the first
2.
[French from Late Latin apposition-, appositio ]
a. archaic : the application of one thing to another (as a seal to a document)
b. : the placing of things in juxtaposition or proximity ; specifically : deposition of successive layers upon those already present (as in cell walls) — compare intussusception
3. : the state of being in juxtaposition or proximity (as in the drawing together of cut edges of tissue in healing)