different between proneness vs prepossession

English

Etymology

prone +? -ness

Noun

proneness (usually uncountable, plural pronenesses)

1. The quality or state of being prone, or of bending downward.

   Antonym: supineness

2. The state of lying with the face down.
3. (dated) Descent; declivity.

4. Inclination of mind, heart, or temper; propension; disposition.

References

• proneness in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Etymology

pre- +? possession.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p?i?p??z???n/

Noun

prepossession (countable and uncountable, plural prepossessions)

1. Preoccupation; having possession beforehand.
2. A preconceived opinion, or previous impression; bias, prejudice.
   • 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Folio Society 2008, p. 386:

     The spontaneous intellect of man always defines the divine which it feels in ways that harmonise with its temporary intellectual prepossessions.

Quotations

• 1791 : I am fully sensible to the greatness of that freedom, which I take with you on the present occasion; a liberty which seemed to me scarcely allowable, when I reflected on that distinguished and dignified station in which you stand, and the almost general prejudice and prepossession, which is so prevalent in the world against those of my complexion. - Letter from Benjamin Banneker to Thomas Jefferson, August 19, 1791

References

• prepossession in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.