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Attitude

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at⋅ti⋅tude

[at-i-tood, -tyood]
–noun
1. manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, esp. of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.
2. position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.: a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.
3. Aeronautics. the inclination of the three principal axes of an aircraft relative to the wind, to the ground, etc.
4. Ballet. a pose in which the dancer stands on one leg, the other bent behind.

Origin:
1660–70; < F < It attitudine < LL aptitūdini- (s. of aptitūdō) aptitude


at⋅ti⋅tu⋅di⋅nal, adjective


2. See position.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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at·ti·tude   (āt'ĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd')   
n.  
  1. A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself: stood in a graceful attitude. See Synonyms at posture.

    1. A state of mind or a feeling; disposition: had a positive attitude about work.

    2. An arrogant or hostile state of mind or disposition.

  2. The orientation of an aircraft's axes relative to a reference line or plane, such as the horizon.

  3. The orientation of a spacecraft relative to its direction of motion.

  4. A position similar to an arabesque in which a ballet dancer stands on one leg with the other raised either in front or in back and bent at the knee.


[French, from Italian attitudine, from Late Latin aptitūdō, aptitūdin-, faculty; see aptitude.]
at'ti·tu'di·nal (-tōōd'n-əl, -tyōōd'-) adj., at'ti·tu'di·nal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

attitude 
1668, via Fr., from It. attitudine "disposition, posture," also "aptness, promptitude," from L.L. aptitudinem (nom. aptitudo), noun of quality from L. aptus "fit" (see apt). Originally 17c. a technical term in art for the posture of a figure in a statue or painting; later generalized to "a posture of the body supposed to imply some mental state" (1725). Sense of "settled behavior reflecting feeling or opinion" is first recorded 1837. Connotations of "antagonistic and uncooperative" developed 1962 in slang.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: at·ti·tude
Pronunciation: 'at-&-"t(y)üd
Function: noun
1 : the arrangement of the parts of the body : POSTURE
2 a : a mental position with regard to a fact or state b : a feeling or emotiontoward a fact or state
3 : an organismic state of readiness to respond in a characteristic way to a stimulus (as an object, concept, or situation)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

attitude at·ti·tude (āt'ĭ-t&oomacr;d', -ty&oomacr;d')
n.

  1. The position of the body and limbs; posture.

  2. A manner of acting.

  3. A relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a characteristic way.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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