What is the medical term for positioning a patient in a sitting position with their legs hanging off the side of the bed before ambulation?

The medical term for positioning a patient in a sitting position with their legs hanging off the side of the bed is "dangling." This practice is often used as a preparatory step before ambulation to help the patient adjust to being upright and to assess their stability and comfort. Dangling allows the patient's blood circulation to adapt to the change in position, reducing the risk of dizziness or fainting that might occur if they were to stand up suddenly after lying down.

In contrast, the term "supine" refers to lying flat on the back, "prone" means lying flat on the stomach, and "recumbent" generally describes lying down in a horizontal position but does not specifically denote sitting on the edge of the bed. Thus, dangling is the appropriate term for the action described in the question.