poise
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
Etymology: From Middle English poys, poyse, from Anglo-Norman pois, Middle French pois (“weight”) and Anglo-Norman poise, Middle French poise (“measure of weight”), from Latin pendere (“to weigh, ponder, think”). Doublet of peise.
Inflected forms:
form: poises
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: poises
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: poising
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: poised
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: poised
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A state of balance, equilibrium or stability.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: plants and animals, which are all made up of and nourished by water, and perhaps never return to water again, do not keep things at a poise
gloss: Composure; freedom from embarrassment or affectation.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Mien; bearing or deportment of the head or body.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A condition of hovering, or being suspended.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A CGS unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimetre.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: Letterpress and offset gloss varnishes normally have viscosities varying from 50 to 250 poises; they must stain the paper as little as possible, have insufficient tack to cause plucking, […]
gloss: Weight; an amount of weight, the amount something weighs.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
examples: as an huge rockie clift, / Whose false foundation waues haue washt away, / With dreadfull poyse is from the mayneland rift, / […] So downe he fell […]
gloss: The weight, or mass of metal, used in weighing, to balance the substance weighed.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: That which causes a balance; a counterweight.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: As for Hyperboles, I will neither quote Lucan, nor Statius, Men of an unbounded imagination, but who often wanted the Poyze of Judgement.
gloss: To hang in equilibrium; to be balanced or suspended; hence, to be in suspense or doubt.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
examples: The slender, graceful spars / Poise aloft in the air.
gloss: To counterpoise; to counterbalance.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
examples: one scale of reason to poise another of sensuality
1699, John Dryden, Epistle to John Dryden
to poise with solid sense a sprightly wit
gloss: To be of a given weight; to weigh.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
gloss: To add weight to, to weigh down.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
examples: Every man poiseth [translating poise] upon his fellowes sinne, and elevates his owne.
gloss: To hold (something) with or against something else in equilibrium; to balance, counterpose.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
examples: you saw her faire none els being by, / Her selfe poysd with her selfe in either eye.
gloss: To hold (something) in equilibrium, to hold balanced and ready; to carry (something) ready to be used.
pos: verb
examples: I poised the crowbar in my hand, and waited.
to poise the scales of a balance
Nor yet was earth suspended in the sky; / Nor poised, did on her own foundation lie.
The intention to close [Yeovil] Pen Mill was therefore abandoned and instead the economy axe was re-poised over Yeovil Junction.
gloss: To keep (something) in equilibrium; to hold suspended or balanced.
pos: verb
examples: The rock was poised precariously on the edge of the cliff.
gloss: To ascertain, as if by balancing; to weigh.
pos: verb
examples: He cannot sincerely consider the strength, poise the weight, and discern the evidence.
Related words: peso
pansy
pensive
avoirdupois
Derived words: anglepoise
centipoise
decapoise
equipoise
millipoise
poiseless
unpoise
counterpoise
overpoise
apoise
outpoise
poiser
unpoised
Translations: