pose
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /poʊz/
ipa: /pəʊz/
rhymes: -əʊz
Forms: form: poses
form: posing
form: posed
form: posed
Etymology: From Middle English posen, from Old French poser (“to put, place, stell, settle, lodge”), from Vulgar Latin pausāre (“to blin, cease, pause”), from Latin pausa (“pause”), from Ancient Greek παῦσις (paûsis); influenced by Latin pōnere. Doublet of pause.
Senses: examples: text: To pose a model for a picture.
glosses: To place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect.
glosses: To ask; to set (a test, quiz, riddle, etc.).
examples: text: Rather, they are concerned with the threat Iran poses to the region and the world.
ref: 2010, Noam Chomsky, “The Iranian threat”, in Z Magazine, volume 23, number 7:
text: Rooney's United team-mate Chris Smalling was given his debut at right-back and was able to adjust to the international stage in relatively relaxed fashion as Bulgaria barely posed a threat of any consequence.
ref: 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:
text: The threat the most radical of them pose is evidently far greater at home than abroad.
ref: 2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian:
glosses: To constitute (a danger, a threat, a risk, etc.).
glosses: To falsely impersonate (another person or occupation) primarily for the purpose of accomplishing something or reaching a goal.
raw_tags: in the phrase "to pose as"
examples: text: He […] posed before her as a hero.
ref: 1840, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “A Shabby Genteel Story”, in Miscellanies: Prose and Verse, volume IV, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC:
glosses: To assume or maintain a pose; to strike an attitude.
examples: text: dressed-to-kill babes and their sugar daddies would rather pose in malls, and teenagers can find McDonald's anywhere, leaving Váci utterly dependent on tourists for its livelihood and bustle.
ref: 2002, Charles Hebbert, Dan Richardson, The Rough Guide to Budapest, 2nd edition, London: Rough Guides, →ISBN, page 73:
glosses: To behave affectedly in order to attract interest or admiration.
examples: text: She pretended to […] pose him and sift him.
ref: 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC:
glosses: To interrogate; to question.
examples: text: A question wherewith a learned Pharisee thought to pose or puzzle him.
ref: a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). Of the Love of God”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC:
text: The Doctor […] had likewise a pair of little eyes that were always half shut up, and a mouth that was always half expanded into a grin, as if he had, that moment, posed a boy, and were waiting to convict him from his own lips.
ref: 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:
glosses: To question with a view to puzzling; to embarrass by questioning or scrutiny; to bring to a stand.
Derived terms: malpose
posable
poseable
posingly
posing pouch
unpose
Related terms: puzzle