'apposition' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'appositio', where the prefix 'ad-' (assimilated to 'ap-') meant 'to, toward' and 'ponere' meant 'to place'.

'appositio' passed through Late Latin and was adopted into Middle English (as forms like 'apposition') and eventually became the modern English word 'apposition'.

Initially it meant 'a placing beside' in a physical or general sense; over time it came to be used especially for the grammatical notion of one noun phrase placed beside another to explain or identify it.