poise

C1 Topic:Describing People

US /pɔɪz/ See IPA manual

Freq #27246

Meanings

1

noun
A calm, confident, and graceful manner.

She answered the difficult questions with remarkable poise.
2

noun
A state of balance or steadiness.

The dancer held her body in perfect poise.
3

verb
To hold or balance something steadily, often ready to move.

The cat poised itself, ready to pounce on the mouse.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms poisedpoisespoising

Derived forms anglepoiseapoisecentipoisecounterpoisedecapoiseequipoisemillipoiseoutpoiseoverpoisepoiselesspoiserunpoise

Related forms avoirdupois pansy pensivepeso

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.

*(s)pend- Proto-Indo-European poys Middle English pois Middle French pēnsum Latin

View etymology graph ->

External links

# poise

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /pɔɪz/
**Frequency rank:** 27246

## Meanings
1. A calm, confident, and graceful manner.
2. A state of balance or steadiness.
3. To hold or balance something steadily, often ready to move.

## Examples
- She answered the difficult questions with remarkable poise.
- The dancer held her body in perfect poise.
- The cat poised itself, ready to pounce on the mouse.

## Derived Forms
- anglepoise
- apoise
- centipoise
- counterpoise
- decapoise
- equipoise
- millipoise
- outpoise
- overpoise
- poiseless
- poiser
- unpoise

## Related Forms
- avoirdupois
- pansy
- pensive
- peso

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)pend-
- Root: poys
- Root: pois
- Root: pēnsum

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Poise is 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. In present-day use, it can mean a calm, confident, and graceful manner, or a state of balance or steadiness. Related forms include avoirdupois, pansy, pensive, peso. Derived formations include anglepoise, apoise, centipoise, counterpoise, decapoise.

## Topics
- Describing People

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poise

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