peise

P3E1I1S1E1
/peɪz//piːz/

verb

To weigh or measure the weight of; to poise.

OriginMiddle English peysen ← Anglo-Norman peiser ← Middle French peser →
Scrabble 7
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Meanings

verbpeise (third-person singular simple present peises, present participle peising, simple past and past participle peised)

present singular third person peises · participle present peising · participle past peised · past peised

  1. obsoleteTo weigh or measure the weight of; to poise.
  2. figurativelyobsoleteTo weigh or take the measure of (an immaterial object).
  3. figurativelyobsoleteTo weigh down, retard

    I speak too long; but 'tis to peise the time, To eke it, and to draw it out in length, […]

    c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]
nounpeise (plural peises)

plural peises

  1. UKdialectalobsoleteA weight; a poise.

    To weigh pence with a peise.

    c. 1378-9, [William Langland], “(please specify the passus number)”, in The Vision of Pierce Plowman [...] (Cr, B-text), London: […] Roberte Crowley, […], published 1550, →OCLC
  2. obsoleteA heavy blow, an impact.

    Great Ptolomæe it for his lemans sake / Ybuilded all of glasse, by Magicke powre, / And also it impregnable did make; / Yet when his loue was false, he with a peaze it brake.

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

Origin

  1. Latinpēnsāre
  2. Middle Frenchpeser
  3. Anglo-Normanpeiser
  4. Middle Englishpeysen
  5. Englishpeise

From Middle English peysen, from Anglo-Norman peiser, peser and Middle French peser, from Latin pēnsāre (literally “weigh”). Doublet of poise.

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Middle French

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with peise

pleasedaysdiseasewaysfeesJapanesephasetreeskeysraiseresexpertiseoverseaseasephrasePortuguesepraiseBelizeprixgaysVietnameseLouisehayesstays
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

peaspeasepayspeaspeasepays
Cite this entry
APA

peise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peise

MLA

“peise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peise. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peise,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peise.

Source: peise on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.