| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
| poise1 |
| |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  poiz |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: poised, pois·ing, pois·es
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | To carry or hold in equilibrium; balance. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To be balanced or held in suspension; hover. | | NOUN: | 1. A state of balance or equilibrium; stability. 2. Freedom from affectation or embarrassment; composure. 3. The bearing or deportment of the head or body; mien. 4. A state or condition of hovering or being suspended. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English poisen, to balance, weigh, from Old French peser, pois-, from Vulgar Latin *p s re, from Latin pnsre. See (s)pen- in Appendix I.
| | |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
