Post, To

In a military sense, means to station; as, to post a sentinel. To be posted , in military tactics signifies to be formed ready for action. Thus, when troops are brought up in column, and ordered to deploy, it frequently happens that some part of the line is refused, in order to flank an enemy, or to cover a weak position; the part that is aligned is said to be posted. To be posted also means, in a familiar sense, to be publicly announced as an infamous or degraded character. Hence, to post a man as a coward is to stick his name up in a conspicuous place, and to accuse him of want of spirit, etc.