I. ˈpōz verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English posen, from Middle French poser, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin (Gaul) pausare (influenced in meaning by Latin pos-, perfect stem of ponere to put, place), from Late Latin, to stop, rest — more at position , pause
transitive verb
1.
a. : to put or set in place or in a given position
posed his spectacles, and read the obituary — Arnold Bennett
this hat features an elongated … brim posed midway down on the forehead — Women's Wear Daily
b. : to place (as a model or sitter) in a studied attitude with attention to posture and ensemble
great photographers have posed her — Joseph Bryan
2.
a. : to put or set forth : present , offer
a number of the points … were posed in an unsatisfactory way — New York Times
posed a resistance to the … concept — Roger Burlingame
posed the greatest threat of dismemberment — E.S.Morgan
b. : propound
posing so many puzzles — Irish Digest
pose exactly the same issue — S.L.Payne
questions which can be posed by the students themselves — Bard College Bulletin
intransitive verb
1. : to place oneself in a given posture or attitude usually for artistic purposes
pose for a photographer
pose for a picture
the birds were quiet and posed beautifully — C.L.Barrett
2. : to assume a given attitude or character usually with a view to deceive or impress : strike an attitude : attitudinize
posed in public speeches as a man of the people — G.A.Craig
good poetry does not pose — C.S.Kilby
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, from poser
1. : a fixed or sustained posture of the body or of a part of the body
the free pose of the girl — Winston Churchill
especially : one assumed for artistic effect
a set of about three short poses culminating in a grand tableau — Faubion Bowers
or affectation
his every movement is a pose
2.
a. : a mental posture : frame of mind
the pose of the book is one of critical detachment — A.M.Schlesinger b. 1917
b. : an attitude that is affected : an attitude assumed for effect : pretense
his directness was a pose , his professional pose — Louis Auchincloss
his deprecation of the human strikes us a kind of pose — L.A.Fiedler
c. : posing , attitudinizing
an age of pose
an everyday touch and a minimum of pose — Jack Gould
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pos, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse posi pouch, purse; akin to Old English posa, pusa bag, Old High German pfoso pouch, and perhaps to Old English pocca, pohha bag — more at poke
chiefly Scotland : a secret treasure : hoard
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: short for earlier appose, from Middle English apposen, alteration of opposen to oppose — more at oppose
1. obsolete : question
2. : to puzzle by or as if by questioning : put in a quandary : baffle , nonplus
determined not to be posed — Lucy M. Montgomery