prostration

PROSTRA'TION, n. The act of throwing down or laying flat; as the prostration of the body, of trees or of corn.

1. The act of falling down, or the act of bowing in humility or adoration; primarily, the act of falling on the face, but it is now used for kneeling or bowing in reverence and worship.

2. Great depression; dejection; as a prostration of spirits.

3. Great loss of natural strength and vigor; that state of the body in disease in which the system is passive and requires powerful stimulants to excite it into action.