\Pros*tra"tion\, n. [L. prostratio: cf. F.
prostration.]
1. The act of prostrating, throwing down, or laying fiat; as,
   the prostration of the body.
2. The act of falling down, or of bowing in humility or
   adoration; primarily, the act of falling on the face, but
   usually applied to kneeling or bowing in reverence and
   worship.
         A greater prostration of reason than of body.
                                               --Shak.
3. The condition of being prostrate; great depression;
   lowness; dejection; as, a postration of spirits. ``A
   sudden prostration of strength.'' --Arbuthnot.
4. (Med.) A latent, not an exhausted, state of the vital
   energies; great oppression of natural strength and vigor.
Note: Prostration, in its medical use, is analogous to the
      state of a spring lying under such a weight that it is
      incapable of action; while exhaustion is analogous to
      the state of a spring deprived of its elastic powers.
      The word, however, is often used to denote any great
      depression of the vital powers.