I. ˈpȯiz verb
( poised ; pois·ing )
Etymology: Middle English, to weigh, ponder, from Anglo-French peiser, poiser, from Latin pensare — more at pensive
Date: 1598
transitive verb
1.
a. : balance ; especially : to hold or carry in equilibrium
carried a water jar poised on her head
b. : to hold supported or suspended without motion in a steady position
poised her fork and gave her guest a knowing look — Louis Bromfield
2. : to hold or carry (the head) in a particular way
3. : to put into readiness : brace
intransitive verb
1. : to become drawn up into readiness
2. : hover
II. noun
Etymology: Middle English poyse weight, heaviness, from Anglo-French peis, pois, from Latin pensum, from neuter of pensus, past participle of pendere to weigh — more at pendant
Date: 1649
1. : a stably balanced state : equilibrium
a poise between widely divergent impulses — F. R. Leavis
2.
a. : easy self-possessed assurance of manner : gracious tact in coping or handling ; also : the pleasantly tranquil interaction between persons of poise
no angry outbursts marred the poise of the meeting
b. : a particular way of carrying oneself : bearing , carriage
Synonyms: see tact
III. ˈpwäz noun
Etymology: French, from Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille died 1869 French physician and anatomist
Date: 1913
: a centimeter-gram-second unit of viscosity equal to the viscosity of a fluid that would require a shearing force of one dyne to impart to a one-square-centimeter area of an arbitrary layer of the fluid a velocity of one centimeter per second relative to another layer separated from the first by a distance of one centimeter