[pose] vb posed ; pos.ing [ME, fr. MF poser, fr. (assumed) VL pausare, fr. LL, to stop, rest, pause, fr. L pausa pause] vt (14c) 1 a: to present for attention or consideration "let me ~ a question" b: to put or set forth: offer "this attitude ~s a threat to our hopes for peace"
2. a: to put or set in place b: to place (as a model) in a studied attitude ~ vi 1: to assume a posture or attitude usu. for artistic purposes
2: to affect an attitude or character usu. to deceive or impress
[2]pose n (1818) 1: a sustained posture; esp: one assumed for artistic effect
2: an attitude, role, or characteristic assumed for effect syn pose, air, airs, affectation, mannerism mean an adopted way of speaking or behaving. pose implies an attitude deliberately assumed in order to impress others "her shyness was just a pose". air may suggest natural acquirement through environment or way of life "a traveler's sophisticated air". airs always implies artificiality and pretentiousness "snobbish airs". affectation applies to a trick of speech or behavior that strikes the observer as insincere "the posh accent is an affectation". mannerism applies to an acquired eccentricity that has become a habit "gesturing with a cigarette was her most noticeable mannerism". [3]pose vt posed ; pos.ing [short for earlier appose, fr. ME apposen, alter. of opposen to oppose] (1593): puzzle, baffle