poise

poise · noun, verb¹

1. Latin · derived frompendere“to weigh, ponder, think”
2. Middle French · derived frompois“weight”
3. Anglo-Norman · derived frompois
4. Middle English · inherited frompoys
5. English todaypoise

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.

poise · noun²

From French physicist and physiologist Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 14th–17th c. To be of a given weight; to weigh.
• 16th–18th c. To add weight to, to weigh down.
• from 16th c. To hold (something) with or against something else in equilibrium; to balance, counterpose.
• from 16th c. To hold (something) in equilibrium, to hold balanced and ready; to carry (something) ready to be used.
• from 17th c. To keep (something) in equilibrium; to hold suspended or balanced.