poise

noun

/pɔɪz/

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.

derived from pēnsum — “to weigh, ponder, think”
derived from pois
derived from pois
inherited from poys

Definitions

1
A state of balance, equilibrium or stability.
- 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
Composure
Composure; freedom from embarrassment or affectation.
Mien
Mien; bearing or deportment of the head or body.
›+ 14 more definitionsshow fewer
1. A condition of hovering, or being suspended.
2. 5
  A CGS unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimetre.
  - 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, […]
3. 6
  Weight
  Weight; an amount of weight, the amount something weighs.
  - as an huge rockie clift, / Whose false foundation waues haue washt away, / With dreadfull poyse is from the mayneland rift, / […] So downe he fell […]
4. The weight, or mass of metal, used in weighing, to balance the substance weighed.
5. 8
  That which causes a balance
  That which causes a balance; a counterweight.
  - As for Hyperboles, I will neither quote Lucan, nor Statius, Men of an unbounded imagination, but who often wanted the Poyze of Judgement.
6. 9
  To hang in equilibrium
  To hang in equilibrium; to be balanced or suspended; hence, to be in suspense or doubt.
  - The slender, graceful spars / Poise aloft in the air.
7. 10
  To counterpoise
  To counterpoise; to counterbalance.
  - one scale of reason to poise another of sensuality
  - 1699, John Dryden, Epistle to John Dryden to poise with solid sense a sprightly wit
8. To be of a given weight
  To be of a given weight; to weigh.
9. 12
  To add weight to, to weigh down.
  - Every man poiseth [translating poise] upon his fellowes sinne, and elevates his owne.
10. 13
  To hold (something) with or against something else in equilibrium
  To hold (something) with or against something else in equilibrium; to balance, counterpose.
  - you saw her faire none els being by, / Her selfe poysd with her selfe in either eye.
11. 14
  To hold (something) in equilibrium, to hold balanced and ready
  To hold (something) in equilibrium, to hold balanced and ready; to carry (something) ready to be used.
  - 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.
12. 15
  To keep (something) in equilibrium
  To keep (something) in equilibrium; to hold suspended or balanced.
  - The rock was poised precariously on the edge of the cliff.
13. 16
  To ascertain, as if by balancing
  To ascertain, as if by balancing; to weigh.
  - He cannot sincerely consider the strength, poise the weight, and discern the evidence.
14. Unit of viscosity in the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS).

The neighborhood

neighborpeso
neighborpansy
neighborpensive
neighboravoirdupois

Derived

anglepoise, centipoise, decapoise, equipoise, millipoise, poiseless, unpoise, counterpoise, overpoise, apoise, outpoise, poiser, unpoised

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at poise. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at poise. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at poise

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA