proprioception

English

WOTD – 26 August 2009

Etymology

From proprioceptor, from Latin prōprius (“one's own”) +‎ reception. Coined by British neurophysiologist Charles Scott Sherrington in 1906.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌpɹəʊ.pɹi.əʊˈsɛp.ʃən/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌpɹoʊ.pɹi.oʊˈsɛp.ʃən/
• Hyphenation: pro‧prio‧cep‧tion

Noun

proprioception (countable and uncountable, plural proprioceptions)

1. The sense of the position of parts of the body, relative to other neighbouring parts of the body.
   • 2003, James Stark, Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy, University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, page 30:

     […] it is achieved through a neuromuscular feedback system known as proprioception or kinaesthetic awareness, as well as through an auditory control system in which the ear monitors the sound and makes […]

   • 2024 July 18, Joel Snape, “The power of proprioception: how to improve your ‘sixth sense’ – and become healthier and happier”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Sometimes referred to as our sixth sense, proprioception is what helps high-level athletes take a penalty without looking at the ball, or orient themselves in the air while doing a twisting somersault.

Synonyms

• kinesthesia (broadly synonymous)
• sixth sense (informal)

Coordinate terms

• exteroception
• interoception

Related terms

• proprioceptional
• proprioceptive
• proprioceptor
• proprioceptory

Translations

sense of the position of parts of the body

• Catalan: propiocepció f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 本體感覺／本体感觉 (běntǐ gǎnjué)

• Danish: proprioception c
• Dutch: proprioceptie (nl) f
• Esperanto: propriocepto, proprioceptado
• Estonian: propriotseptsioon
• Finnish: asentoaisti, proprioseptiikka, proprioseptio
• French: proprioception (fr) f
• German: Propriozeption (de) f, Tiefensensibilität (de) f
• Greek: ιδιοδεκτικότητα f (idiodektikótita)
• Hungarian: propriocepció, izom helyzetérzékelés, ízületi helyzetérzékelés, ízületi és izom mozgás- és helyzetérzékelés, ízületi és izom mozgásérzékelés, izom mozgásérzékelés, ízületi mozgásérzékelés
• Italian: propriocezione (it) f
• Korean: 심부감각 (simbugamgak)
• Norwegian: propriosepsjon m
• Portuguese: propriocepção f
• Russian: кинестезия (ru) f (kinestezija), проприоце́пция (ru) (propriocépcija)
• Spanish: propiocepción f
• Swedish: proprioception c
• Ukrainian: пропріоце́пція f (propriocépcija)

Further reading

• proprioception on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

proprioception f (plural proprioceptions)

1. proprioception

Further reading

• “proprioception”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.