| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| counterpoise |
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| SYLLABICATION: | coun·ter·poise |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  koun t r-poiz |
| NOUN: | 1. A counterbalancing weight. 2. A force or influence that balances or equally counteracts another. 3. The state of being in equilibrium. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: coun·ter·poised, coun·ter·pois·ing, coun·ter·pois·es
1. To oppose with an equal weight; counterbalance. 2. To act against with an equal force or power; offset. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Alteration (influenced by poise1) of Middle English countrepeis, from Old French contrepeis : contre-, counter- + peis, weight; see avoirdupois.
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| 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. |
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