1. n. & v.
--n.
1. composure or self-possession of manner.
2 equilibrium; a stable state.
3 carriage (of the head etc.).
--v.
1. tr. balance; hold suspended or supported.
2 tr. carry (one's head etc. in a specified way).
3 intr. be balanced; hover in the air etc.
Etymology: ME f. OF pois, peis, peser ult. f. L pensum weight f. pendere pens- weigh 2. n. Physics a unit of dynamic viscosity, such that a tangential force of one dyne per square centimetre causes a velocity change one centimetre per second between two parallel planes in a liquid separated by one centimetre.
Etymology: J. L. M. Poiseuille, Fr. physician d. 1869