poisen.1
/pɔɪz/, U.S. /pɔɪz/ I. Weight.† 1. † 2. † 3. A heavy blow or impact; momentum. Obsolete.
a. Definite or specified weight; the amount that a thing weighs. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > amount determined by weighing
weightc1000
peisea1382
poise1421
pesantc1500
1421 Rolls of Parl. IV. 151/1 Every Liege man..paieth..in Goolde, as in noble..to the value of v s. viii d., by due pois of the noble therof made wyth due abatements of the same.
1425 Rolls of Parl. IV. 290/1 Wolles of gretter poyse thenne were contened in thaire Cokett.
1467–8 Rolls of Parl. V. 635/1 Every man that bringeth a Noble of juste poys to the Kynges Eschaunge shuld have viii s. vi d. ob.
1580 in Reg. Guild Corpus Christi York (1872) 310 Poiz nyne unces and half an unce.
1620 in R. Sanderson Rymer's Fœdera (1717) XVII. 195 Poix, altogither One hundred twentie and three Ounces.
1706 Hist. Picts (ESTC T142053) iii. 20 Brazen Pieces, or Rings of Iron duly weighed and tryed to just Poise.
b. A measure or standard of weight. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > a system or standard of weighing
weighta1000
poise1542
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes ii. f. 183 One hundred talentes, that is of englishe poyse, nyne thousande three hundred poundes of weight.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 234v They are soulde by a poyse or weight which they caule Mangiar.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. xvii. §5. 482 300. shickles of brasse, which make nine pound three quarters of our poizes.
a. figurative. Gravity, importance, significance; load, burden; burdensomeness. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > gravity or seriousness
peisec1425
poise1457
griefa1513
gravity1533
ponderosity1589
ponderance1600
pitha1616
seriousness1797
ponderation1873
gravitas1924
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > encumberment > burdensomeness
heavinessc950
burdensomeness1574
poise1593
burdensome1645
cumbersomeness1785
onerousness1849
1457 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1837) VI. 291 (MED) The xxvij day of January..oure said Counsaille shal eftsones assemble for furthere proceding in the said matiers of greet poys.
1460–1 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1460 375/1 The said writyng shuld..not to be answered without the Kyngs commaundement, for so moche as the mater is..of soo grete wyght and poyse.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes i. vii. 15 Their offyce passeth in poys and perill alle other.
a1525 ( J. C. Nichols Chron. Rebellion Lincs. 13 in Camden Misc. (1847) I (MED) Ye labowred contrarie to naturalle kyndenes of dutie of ligeaunce divers matiers of grete poise.
1593 R. Southwell St. Peter's Complaint 67 My sinnes doe ouercharge thy brest, The poyse therof doth force thy knees to bow.
1657 W. Morice Coena quasi Κοινὴ Diat. iii. 140 The poyse of Charity must incline the beam toward the better part.
1752 D. Hume Polit. Disc. xi. 270 To put all these circumstances in the scale, and assign to each of them its proper poize and influence.
b. The quality of being heavy; heaviness, weight. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > property of being heavy
peisea1382
heavinessa1400
ponderosity?a1425
pesanteur1480
ponderousnessc1484
poise1489
pondera1500
weightiness1539
heft1558
gravity1648
ponderity1656
pondure1661
luggage1667
ponderancy1667
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes ii. xxxv. 153 The toure was of merueyllouse poys and heuy.
1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Telo,..a great poste and high is set faste, then ouer it cometh a longe beame, whiche renneth on a pynne, so that the one ende hauyng more poyse then the other, causeth the lighter ende to rise.
1599 R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. ii.19 The elephant..with the poise of his body breaketh him.
1612 J. Selden in M. Drayton Poly-olbion iii. Illustr. 49 As if their owne poize did..giue them that proper place.
1615 G. Markham Eng. House-wife (1660) 169 For the holding the grain and water, whose poyse and weight might otherwise endanger a weaker substance.
1665 J. Evelyn Let. 9 Sept. (1859) III. 167 We should succumb under the poise.
1741 H. Brooke Poems (1810) 397/2 By his bulk of cumb'rous poise o'ersway'd, Full on his helm receiv'd th' adverse blade.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > [noun] > forcible, heavy, or violent
piltinga1250
racec1330
squatc1350
dasha1375
percussion?a1425
peise1490
poise1490
dashing1580
gulp1598
jolt1599
feeze1603
slam1622
arietation1625
pash1677
pulse1677
jounce1784
smash1808
smashing1821
dush1827
birr1830
dunch1831
whop1895
1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) li. 194 Sadoyne,..wyth xv. thousaund gode knyghtes, valyaunt & hardy, that al at one poyse smot hem self wythin Alymodes folke.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 207 The Ram that batters downe the wall, For the great swinge and rudenesse of his poise, They place before his hand that made the engine. View more context for this quotation
4. † b. figurative. Something that acts like a weight; a bias. Obsolete.† c. Entomology. A haltere. Cf. poiser n. 2. Obsolete.
a. A weight; a heavy object, esp. a piece of some heavy substance used for some purpose because of its weight, such as a weight in a clock (cf. counterpoise n.). Now archaic and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > ponderable matter > that which is heavy or a heavy mass > used on account of its weight
weightc1425
pound1450
poise1531
plummet1612
pondus1719
weighting1875
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xvi. sig. Hvii Laborynge with poyses made of leadde or other metall.
1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) ii. xxxiii. f. 51 Takyng vp plummettes or other lyke poyses on the endes of staues,..these do exercise the backe & loynes.
1561–2 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 282 To the plum'er for casting of the poyses for the chyme and clok.
1614 T. Overbury et al. Characters in Wife now Widdow (3rd impr.) sig. C4 It keeps his minde in a continuall motion, as the poise the clocke.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 323/2 The Shanks or Arms, and the Poises or Lead Balls at the ends.
a1691 R. Baxter Pract. Wks. (1707) II. 169 As we see in a Clock when the Poise is down and in a Watch when the Spring is down; the Motion ceaseth first where it first began.
a1706 J. Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. i. 12 Moved by a spring, pendule, or poise, which first gives motion to the first wheel.
1940 T. H. White Ill-made Knight i. 3 For the last two hours he had been waving some dumbbells in the air—he called them ‘poises’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > [noun] > greater inclination or bias
poise1615
preponderationa1652
biasing1652
1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy Ep. Ded., in Blacke Deuill ii. sig. A2v I haue seldome pretended that common poyse, that..sets so many mad pens, like wheeles, a running, Importunacy of friends.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xxxv. 239 It of course fell where they had given the poise, which was on the right side.
a1794 J. Witherspoon Moral Philos. in Wks. (1800) 337 They [sc. those who manage a state] must be so balanced, that when every one draws to his own interest or inclination, there may be an over poise upon the whole.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda I. i. ix. 166 Such a hint was likely enough to give an adverse poise to Gwendolen's own thought.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > member of > parts of > halteres
poise1713
balancer1753
poiser1790
halteres1823
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. viii. iv. 406 All bipennated Insects have Poises under the hinder part of their Wings... These Poises or Pointells are, for the most part, little Balls set at the top of a slender Stalk, which they can move every way at pleasure.
1748 B. Martin Philos. Gram. (ed. 3) iv. v. 348 Those [insects] which have but two Wings have Poises or Pointils, like little Balls, set under their Wings.
1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. III. 202 Dipterous insects..are those having only two wings, each furnished at its base with a poise or balancer.
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia at Diptera In zoology, an order of the class insecta, characterised by having two wings, under each of which is a clavate poise with its appropriate scale.
II. Equality of weight, balance.
5. equal (also even) poise: the condition of being equally weighted on both sides; balance, equilibrium. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > [noun] > equilibrium
evennessa1398
peisea1400
equal (also even) poise1555
counterpoise1594
libration1603
equal, even scale1604
equilibre1621
poise1621
poisurea1625
balance1642
equilibrity1644
equilibrium1660
equipoise1661
equipoisure1683
equiponderancy1710
equiponderance1775
repose1805
equibalance1841
stasis1920
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. i. f. 94v A payre of balances whose weyght inclynynge from the equall poyse in the myddest [L. ex axe medio librae] towarde eyther of the sydes.
1576 T. Newton tr. L. Lemnie Touchstone of Complexions i. ix. 75 b To keepe..an equal poyze of matrymoniall consent and agreemente together betweene them [sc. mind and body].
a1649 R. Crashaw Carmen Deo Nostro (1652) 106 O Heart! the æquall poise of lou'es both parts.
1692 J. Norris Cursory Refl. Ess. Human Understanding 1 in Christian Blessedness (ed. 2) This already reduces me to an even Poise.
1745 E. Young Complaint: Night the Eighth 40 And that demands a Mind in equal Poize.
1780 Direct. for breeding Game Cocks 33 Pay a strict attention to their manner of fighting, for if they keep the battle on an equal poise against good cocks, and only seem to be beat by age, do not..break the necks of those at their walks.
1856 E. B. Browning Aurora Leigh vi. 231 Some equal poise of sex, some unvowed love Inviolate.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) II. 124 The chariots of the gods in even poise, obeying the rein, glide rapidly.
1942 C. Morley Thorofare i. 24 Frost underfoot and sun overhead were in even poise.
2000 Courier News (Bridgewater, New Jersey) (Nexis) 14 June 1 c Where is the equal poise in justice here? They don't listen to anybody and they don't respond.
6.
a. Balance, equilibrium; stability. Now rare except in technical uses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > [noun] > equilibrium
evennessa1398
peisea1400
equal (also even) poise1555
counterpoise1594
libration1603
equal, even scale1604
equilibre1621
poise1621
poisurea1625
balance1642
equilibrity1644
equilibrium1660
equipoise1661
equipoisure1683
equiponderancy1710
equiponderance1775
repose1805
equibalance1841
stasis1920
1621–31 W. Laud Serm. (1847) 104 The earth itself, that hath but one ‘pillar’, and that is the poise and equilibre of the centre.
1690 T. Burnet Theory of Earth iii. 51 This must needs make it lose its former poise and libration.
1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Moralists i. iii. 33 The Central Powers, which hold the lasting Orbs in their just Poize and Movement.
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters ii. 253 The animal..loses his poise,..gasps and apparently dies.
1792 Seymour tr. J. H. Campe Elem. Dialogues, for Improvem. Youth viii. 110 A fine little boy..had leaned out of a garret-window to examine a sparrow's nest... Suddenly losing his poise, he fell headlong at his mother's feet.
1835 W. C. Bryant in N.Y. Mirror 19 Sept. 92/1 How the time-stained walls That earthquakes shook not from their poise, appear To shiver.
1841 R. W. Emerson Ess. 1st Ser. (Boston ed.) ii. 58 The poise of a planet, the bended tree recovering itself from the strong wind..are also demonstrations of the..self-relying soul.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 324/2 Which accelerates its velocity until the balance has passed the point where the spring is in poise.
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 658/1 A balance is said to be in poise when, supported horizontally by its pivots on knife edges, it has no tendency to rotate, or if rotated, no tendency to take up any set position.
1962 E. Bruton Dict. Clocks & Watches (1963) 134 Poise, watchmaker's name for being in ‘balance’, or more exactly in ‘static balance’... An ‘out-of-poise’ balance causes increased positional errors.
2004 Microbiol. Rev. 28 353 Several regulator proteins are involved, with the two component Reg/Prr regulatory system playing a major role in maintaining redox poise in these organisms.
b. The way in which the body, head, etc., is held; bearing, carriage, esp. graceful and elegant bearing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > [noun] > manner of carrying body
bearinga1325
gesturec1410
gest1509
shapea1577
sitting1583
carriage1595
comportment1605
deportment1638
poise1771
set-up1889
tenue1892
1771 Philos. Trans. 1770 (Royal Soc.) 60 310 Great attention should always be had to the poize of the body.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. v. 79 An expression carried out in the backward poise of the girl's head.
1875 H. E. Manning Internal Mission of Holy Ghost ii. 46 Some infirmity, either of the eye, or the hand, or of our posture, or of our poise and balance.
1902 in C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing (1952) ii. 47 Present-day fashions require for the ideal figure an upright poise of the shoulders.
1950 S. Thompson Old Time Dancing (1951) vi. 102 It is essential for dancers to have the correct poise, as this is a very lively and animated dance.
1984 C. Thubron Cruel Madness (1985) ii. 32 My gait was impetuous and uncoordinated. I've never had any poise.
2004 Wanderlust June–July 27/2 Women bearing heavy water-containers on their heads with poise no ladies' finishing school could ever teach.
c. A balanced or hovering condition; suspense of movement; a pause between two periods of motion or change.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > [noun] > suspense of movement
poise1850
hang1866
1850 H. Melville White-jacket xcii. 458 I found myself utterly sinking. Next moment the force of my fall was expended; and there I hung, vibrating in the mid-deep... The life-and-death poise soon passed; and then I found myself slowly ascending.
1878 R. W. Gilder Poet & Master 14 At the poise of the flying year.
1889 Sir F. Leighton in Times 11 Dec. 7/1 The poise of the flood-tide..was only of brief duration.
1912 J. Masefield Dauber in Eng. Rev. Oct. 338 The poise [of a ship] At the roll's end, the checking in the sway.
1990 S. Maitland Three Times Table (BNC) The same glorious sensation as she had felt that instant when, poised on the highest diving-board... That moment of poise and thrill before the free-fall.
7. figurative.
a. The condition of being equally balanced between alternatives; a state of indecision; suspense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > [noun]
yea-and-nayc1384
vacillationc1400
titteringa1413
stackeringc1440
wondingc1440
fluctuationc1450
waver1519
mammering1532
uncertainty1548
wavering1548
to and fro1553
suspense1560
staggering1565
suspension1568
mammery1578
demur1581
branle1591
dilly-dally1592
hesitance1601
irresolution1601
uncertainness1601
undecision1611
waveringness1614
hesitancy1617
unsettledness1619
hesitation1622
unresolvednessa1626
doubleness of minda1628
wavinga1628
swagging1636
poise1637
mambling1640
stickagea1647
vacillancy1668
whifflinga1677
hovering1679
unresolve1679
irresoluteness1686
shilly-shally1755
indecisiona1763
undecisiveness1779
indecisiveness1793
oscillation1798
flexility1815
shilly-shallying1842
swaying1850
Hamletism1852
teeter1855
havering1866
off and on1875
dilly-dallying1879
double-mindedness1881
hesitatingness1890
dither1958
1637 J. Milton Comus 15 An equall poise of hope, and feare Does arbitrate th'event.
1713 A. Pope Let. 14 Dec. (1956) I. 203 'Tis enough to make one remain stupify'd, in a poize of inaction.
1787 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 145 The event was long on the poise.
1875 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets (ed. 13) 407 Great affairs of state hang at poise.
1880 S. Ferguson Poems 3 The soul Ever thus in poise between Things contrarient.
1903 ‘T. Collins’ Such is Life ii. 68 This decision was preceded by a poise of option between two alternatives.
1944 D. Tovey Chamber Music xv. 164 Their extraordinary poise between colloquiality and erudition, irony and cordiality.
2004 Guardian (Nexis) 29 July 14 The ballet's perfect poise between tragedy and transcendence is a reflection of its score.
b. Balance, equilibrium. Also in later use: composure and dignity of manner, self-possession.Sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > stability, fixity > [noun]
stablenessa1300
tack1412
steadfastnessc1450
surenessc1450
stability1470
radicationa1500
constance1509
steadiness1530
certitudea1533
firmance1533
staidness1556
establishment1561
settledness1571
settling1582
state1597
groundedness1601
inviscerationa1631
setness1642
unmalleableness1644
fixedness1647
poise1649
inveteracy1716
well-foundedness1735
fixity1791
unmalleability1828
deep-rootedness1860
instatement1877
steady state1885
hard and fastness1897
1649 R. Lovelace Lucasta: Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs 13 Sweet as her voyce That gave each winding Law and poyze.
1728 J. Thomson Spring 18 All Is off the Poise within.
1801 W. Coxe Trav. Switzerland (ed. 4) I. Introd. 32 The government, losing its poise, was only considered as a provisional committee.
1851 N. Hawthorne House of Seven Gables xii. 191 What was most remarkable, and perhaps, showed a more than common poise in the young man, was the fact, that, amid all these personal vicissitudes, he had never lost his identity.
1874 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch vii. lxiv. 481 The weakness of their [sc. women's] frames and the delicate poise of their health.
1901 A. Shaw in Contemp. Rev. Nov. 610 Men who have at the same time the intellectual range and poise that he has acquired.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 119/2 Not only will a dozen or so lovely gladiolus..add dignity, poise, and charm to any household, but also [etc.].
1964 I. Wallace Man (1965) v. 374 He appeared disconcerted to find Abrahams with Dilman, then recovered his poise.
2005 N.Y. Post (Nexis) 20 Feb. 5 Lincoln lacked Washington's social poise, but was playful and witty.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
poisen.2
/pɔɪz/, U.S. /pɔɪz/ Physics.
A unit of dynamic viscosity in the cgs system, such that a tangential force of one dyne per square centimetre causes a velocity change of one centimetre per second in a liquid flowing between two parallel planes one centimetre apart (equal to 0.1 pascal second). Symbol P.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > fluid dynamics > [noun] > kinematic viscosity > unit of
poise1913
centipoise1916
rhe1924
stokes1931
centistokes1933
1913 R. M. Deeley & P. H. Parr in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 26 87 It would be a distinct advantage to have a name for the unit of viscosity expressed in C.G.S. units, and we would suggest that the word Poise be used for this; for it is to Poiseuille that we owe the experimental demonstration that when a liquid flows through a capillary tube..at constant temperature, the viscosity is constant at all rates of shear, provided that the flow is not turbulent.
1913 R. M. Deeley & P. H. Parr in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 26 89 R. M. Deeley..obtained η = 6 × 1012 poises for the viscosity at 0° C. of fine crystalline ice.
1939 Nature 6 May (Suppl.) p. i (advt.) The Goodeve Thixoviscometer... Range 1 centipoise to 1 megapoise (0·01 to 106 poises).
1964 Times Sci. Rev. Spring 4/2 As a result of its relatively low viscosity—probably about 103 to 105 poises—..the lava flows freely.
1971 Nature 10 Sept. 101/1 Liquefaction implies a reduction in the viscosity of the sediment from that of a plastic solid (say, 104 poise) to that of a thick soupy liquid (say, 10 poise).
1997 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94 10949/2 The viscosity of the medium..is assumed to have the value 0.01 poise (appropriate for water, under normal conditions).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
poisev.
/pɔɪz/, U.S. /pɔɪz/ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > ascertain weight [verb (intransitive)] > weigh (a specific amount)
weighc1000
peisea1382
weighc1386
poise1389
ponder?a1425
to turn the scale1600
ponderize1634
heft1851
avoirdupois1854
scale1862
to tip the scales1884
to weigh in1909
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 18 (MED) He shal haue two candels poysand vj pounde of wax.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. v. 217 (MED) Þe pounde þat she payed by poised [v.rr. peised, weyed; c1400 A text and c1400 C text peysed, peised] a quarteroun more Than myne owne auncere.
1502 R. Arnold Chron. (1811) 49 The price of a quarter whet iij.s. The ferthing symnell poise xv. vuncis and dim. q't'. The ferthing whit loof coket poise xvij. vuncis dim. and ob'.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 58 Presents of gould, ful weightelye poysing.
1587 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. xvi. i. 282 He had two other..whose shot poised aboue two talents in weight.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals (1657) 582 When it is first hatched, she weigheth two drams, that is to say, just as much as the heart of a young infant newly born doth poise.
2. transitive. To weigh (something) by using a balance; to estimate the weight of (something) by hefting. Cf. peise v. 1. Also figurative. Now English regional (south-western).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > ascertain the weight of [verb (transitive)]
weighc1000
aweighOE
peisea1382
poise1458
ponder?1518
pound1570
tron1609
perpenda1612
librate1623
scale1691
weight1734
1458 in E. W. W. Veale Great Red Bk. Bristol: Text Pt. II (1938) 58 (MED) Al maner Wollen cloth and other Merchaundises to be mesured, Weied, or Poysed with in the saide Towne shall be mesured, Weied, and Poysed be twene the biar and seller thereof.
1458 in R. R. Sharpe Cal. Let.-bks. London (1911) K. 394 (MED) [Proclamation forbidding merchant strangers to buy or sell] any maner avoir de pois that oweth to be poised.
?1606 M. Drayton Eglog ii, in Poemes sig. D2v Whereby it doth all poyze and measure.
1652 E. Benlowes Theophila iii. xxx. 41 A way to paint the viewless, poise the weightless Winde.
1695 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. III. v. 235 The Old Romans had this Custom of Poyzing the Money which they paid.
1749 L. Pilkington Mem. (new ed.) I. 54 I began to poize them in my Hands, chusing them by Weight rather than Antiquity, of which..I was not then a Judge.
1750 Conversat. between Blacksmith & Merchant 5 Without observing the Thickness [of two coins], and poising the Weight on your Finger, you could hardly judge the Difference.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Handsale weight, any article purchased by poising it in the hand so as to judge of the weight without actual weighing, is called handsale weight.
1894 R. D. Blackmore Perlycross I. viii. 108 He..‘hefted it’, (that is to say, poised it carefully to judge the weight, as one does a letter for the post).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > appraise, estimate [verb (transitive)]
talec897
ween971
takec1175
weigha1200
deem?c1225
judge?c1225
guessc1330
reta1382
accounta1387
aretc1386
assize1393
consider1398
ponder?a1400
adjudgec1440
reckonc1440
peisec1460
ponderate?a1475
poisea1483
trutinate1528
steem1535
rate?1555
sense1564
compute1604
censure1605
cast1606
cense1606
estimate1651
audit1655
state1671
balance1692
esteem1711
appraise1823
figure1854
tally1860
revalue1894
lowball1973
the mind > mental capacity > thought > continued thinking, reflection, contemplation > thinking about, consideration, deliberation > consider, deliberate [verb (transitive)]
i-thenchec897
showeOE
i-mune971
thinkOE
overthinkOE
takec1175
umbethinkc1175
waltc1200
bethinkc1220
wend?c1225
weighc1380
delivera1382
peisea1382
considerc1385
musec1390
to look over ——a1393
advise?c1400
debatec1400
roll?c1400
revert?a1425
advertc1425
deliberc1425
movec1425
musec1425
revolvec1425
contemplec1429
overseec1440
to think overc1440
perpend1447
roil1447
pondera1450
to eat inc1450
involvec1470
ponderate?a1475
reputec1475
counterpoise1477
poisea1483
traversec1487
umbecast1487
digest1488
undercast1489
overhalec1500
rumble1519
volve?1520
compassa1522
recount1526
trutinate1528
cast1530
expend1531
ruminate1533
concoct1534
contemplate1538
deliberate1540
revolute1553
chawa1558
to turn over1568
cud1569
cogitate1570
huik1570
chew1579
meditatec1580
discourse1581
speculate1599
theorize1599
scance1603
verse1614
pensitate1623
agitate1629
spell1633
view1637
study1659
designa1676
introspect1683
troll1685
balance1692
to figure on or upon1837
reflect1862
mull1873
to mull over1874
scour1882
mill1905
a1483 Liber Niger in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 20 All the intermixtions poysed by wysedom and worshipp.
1496 Epit. Iaspar Late Duke of Beddeforde (Pynson) sig. aiv Gewellys..poysyd at grete valoyre.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. viii. 493/2 So vneuenly doth some mens iudgement poyse.
1636 D. Featley Clavis Mystica xvi. 209 Let us now poize the circumstances which are all weighty.
1712 A. Philips Distrest Mother i. iv. 20 Ungovern'd Temper would not let me weigh The Importance of your Embassy; and hear You argue for my Good... I since have poised your Reasons.
1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VI. xvi. 65 A thousand resolutions..weighed, poized, and perpended.
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea II. v. 119 They would have seen him turn crimson in poising the question.
4. † a. transitive. To add weight to; to weight, load, burden; to weigh down, oppress; to incline or sway by or as by weight. Cf. peise v. 6a. Obsolete.† b. transitive. To steady or make stable by or as by adding weight; to ballast. Obsolete.† c. intransitive. To press or tend downward by virtue of having weight. Cf. peise v. 6b. Obsolete.† d. transitive. With equally or evenly: to weight evenly, to cause to have equal weight on both sides; to put into equilibrium, to balance. Cf. poise n.1 5. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > be disposed or inclined to [verb (transitive)] > predispose a person to something
inclinec1350
wrestc1374
wring1528
poise1586
preponderate1642
set1909
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > weight [verb (transitive)] > make heavy > add weight to
peisea1450
ballast1566
loaden1568
load1578
poise1586
ingravidate1642
imponderate1667
clog1692
weight1747
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. F1v The innumerable multitude of those,..whome with the weight of hys endlesse wealth, he poized down, that they durst not then whisper in secret, what now they openly discouer.
a1677 T. Manton Serm. Psalm cxix clxxxii, in Wks. (1872) IX. 234 When a man is biassed and poised by his heart to a thing.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 25. ¶2 As soon as I find my self duely poised after Dinner, I walk till I have perspired five Ounces and four Scruples.
?1793 P. Oliver Eight Sermons on Necessity Repentance by Rev. James Usher 27 Consider whether these thoughts which poise down our hearts be not groundless.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > make good [verb (transitive)]
poise1601
bonify1654
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xi. x. 314 If haply there doe arise a tempest..they [bees] catch up some little stonie greet to ballaise and poise themselves against the wind.
1642 J. March Argument Militia To Rdr. sig. A2 Every man..ought to have his conscience poysed by good grounds and principles, lest that it suffer shipwrack.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 181. ⁋1 That Sobriety of Thought which poises the Heart.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > sink > under weight or pressure > tend downwards under its own weight
peisea1500
poise1615
gravitate1644
1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy 20 in Blacke Devill Like the Pinacles on some Battlements; that point vpward to heauen but poyse downeward to their Center.
ΚΠ
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi vi. §2. 200 The earth..is so equally poysed on every side, that it cannot but be firmly upheld.
1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. ii. 35 A Bowl equally poised, and thrown upon a..smooth Bowling-Green.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xviii. 121 The scales are equally poised.
1775 J. Ash New Dict. Eng. Lang. Unequilibrated, not equally poised.
1867 L. M. Child Romance of Republic ii. xxxix. 440 One hand upheld the shield of the Union, and in the other the scales of Justice were evenly poised.
1896 F. B. Money-Coutts Poems 7 The other turned, Protesting:—‘Whether penalty and pollution Equally poise the apparent heavenly scales, Appeal to God’.
5. † b. transitive. To be of equal weight with (chiefly figurative); to balance, counterbalance; to equal, match. Obsolete.† c. intransitive. To act as a counterweight against. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To weigh or balance (one thing against, by, to, with another, or two things against each other); to bring into or hold in mutual equilibrium. Chiefly figurative. Now rare.In quot. 1697: to equalize.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > balance against or counterbalance > one thing with another
peisec1450
poise1597
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. ii. 97 Tut you saw her faire none els being by, Her selfe poysd with her selfe in either eye. View more context for this quotation
1638 Penit. Conf. (1657) 338 Poysing past and future events as two scales in a balance.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 50 Wilt thou bless our Summers with thy Rays, And seated near the Ballance, poise the Days..? View more context for this quotation
1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. viii. 249 The Sire of Gods his golden Scales suspends, With equal Hand: In these explor'd the Fate Of Greece and Troy, and pois'd the mighty Weight.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 342 Who poises and proportions sea and land, Weighing them in the hollow of his hand.
1830 I. D'Israeli Comm. Life Charles I III. xi. 237 Again was Cartwright poised against Whitgift.
1994 K. ya Salaam What is Life? 98 This instinctual fight to stay alive is poised against the urge to get back to the origins, to the womb. This urge can only be fulfilled by death.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > balance against or counterbalance
gaina1375
counterpoise1393
peisea1400
weigh1583
set1589
poise1600
to weigh against, again1600
affront1609
balance1624
cancel1633
counterbalance1636
counterpose1636
compensate1656
equilibriatea1657
outset1656
equiponderate1661
equipoise1664
equibalance1665
offset1673
countersway1710
to set off1749
counterweigh1825
equilibrate1829
to set against ——1832
equilibrize1833
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor ii. i. sig. Eiii 'Twill scarse poize the obseruation else. View more context for this quotation
1609 B. Jonson Case is Alterd i. sig. Bv That what so ere your wisedome hath t' expose, Be it the waightiest and most rich affaire, That euer was included in your breast, My faith shall poise it. View more context for this quotation
1667 H. Stubbe in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 498 Two contrary Winds poise each other, and make a Calm in the midst.
1744 E. Young Complaint: Night the Seventh 22 Thirst of Applause calls public Judgment in, To poise our own, to keep an even Scale.
1779 A. Baxter Evid. of Reason in Proof of Immortality of Soul 262 We at all times endure a clear unbalanced bodily pain, except at those short intervals, when the pain and pleasure barely poise each other; or when both are cancelled in sleep.
ΚΠ
a1718 W. Penn Tracts in Wks. (1726) I. 700 They have others that will more than Poize against the Growing Power of it.
6. † b. transitive (reflexive). Of water: to move up and down towards a state of equilibrium. Obsolete. rare.† c. transitive. To heave, lift. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To hold or carry in equilibrium; to hold balanced in the hand, on the head, etc.; to carry steadily or evenly; to hold in position ready for use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > absence of support > hold up without support or in equilibrium [verb (transitive)]
hanga1382
poise1598
suspend1646
buoy1782
balance1841
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 36 Poizing the pike with an equall poize vpon his thombe and shoulder.
1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 55 The 8 elephant supporters not being able to poize it on their heads.
1680 A. Radcliffe in Earl of Rochester Poems 133 After some canting Terms, to your Armes and the like, Such as poysing your Musket, or porting your Pike.
1737 S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 34 His Pistol steadily pois'd in his Hand.
1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy V. xxxii. 114 ‘Poise your firelock,’ cried the corporal, doing the duty still of both adjutant and private man.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. i. 9 I saw him lift and poise the book and stand in act to hurl it.
1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 238 The largest masses can be lifted, poised, or laid down at any point with the nicest accuracy.
1870 W. Chambers Wintering at Mentone i. 13 Their favourite mode of carrying things is to poise them on the top of the head.
1955 C. S. Lewis Magician's Nephew ix. 103 She was poising in her hand the iron bar.., ready to throw it.
1967 C. Jackson Second-hand Life (1968) ii. 151 He poised his pencil, ready to write down what she wanted to order.
1988 L. Erdrich Tracks vii. 180 He poised the gun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (transitive)] > swing
swing1560
poise1625
1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated ii. vi. 85 If it [sc. a small vessel] be moued forward, the Water will leap back to the opposite part, & will oftentimes poize it selfe hither & thither, seeking an æquilibration.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > lift or take up
aheaveeOE
to reach upOE
to draw upOE
bearc1225
upnimc1290
to take upc1330
upholda1400
lutchc1400
hovec1480
upweigha1593
lift1596
poise1689
to up with1825
1689 ‘Philopolites’ Grumbletonian Crew 4 To use their Skill and Care, in weighing and poising up again this same forsaken and sinking Vessel.
7.
a. transitive. To place or keep in equilibrium; to hold supported or suspended; to make even; to balance. Also reflexive: to hold or put oneself in readiness or expectation. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > prepare [verb (reflexive)]
yarec888
yarkc1000
graithc1230
dightc1275
to make yarec1290
arrayc1320
tirec1330
agraith1340
buska1350
readya1350
dressc1350
shapec1374
disposec1375
ordainc1380
rayc1380
makec1390
bouna1400
updressa1400
fettlec1400
address1447
ettlec1450
aready1470
to make oneself forth1488
busklea1555
poise1639
arrange1865
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > balance
peisea1382
counterpoise1393
counterweighc1430
ballast1611
evena1618
equilibrate1625
balance1634
poise1639
to hold scale with1650
weigh1697
equipoisea1764
trim1817
to even up1863
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > prepare [verb (reflexive)] > for effort
girdc1450
bracea1500
buckle1570
accinge1657
screw1785
to work up1820
nerve1821
poise1831
to screw up1841
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre iii. vii. 120 At last he resolved..openly to poise himself indifferent betwixt these two Kings.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 579 Where Earth now rests Upon her Center pois'd . View more context for this quotation
1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 9 By what artifice they poise themselves.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. iii. 38 This Magnet is sustained by a very strong Axle of Adamant passing through its middle, upon which it plays, and is poized so exactly that the weakest Hand can turn it.
1769 W. Robertson Hist. Charles V III. xii. 396 The balance of power among the Italian States was poized with greater equality.
1831 Times 14 June 2/6 The eagle, poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind.
1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths I. 36 Her small head was perfectly poised on a slender neck.
1898 L. Stephen Stud. of Biographer II. vii. 265 Showing us men poised between the two infinites.
1911 J. M. Barrie Peter & Wendy iv. 67 Sometimes he poised himself in the air, listening intently with his hand to his ear.
1935 G. Greene in Spectator 155 606/2 Much of the production is poised like this on the edge of absurdity because Herr Reinhardt cannot visualize how his ideas will work out on the screen.
1968 B. England Figures in Landscape 162 Once a patrol came so close that they poised themselves to strike.
1994 N. Holder Dead in Water viii. 87 Elise poised her hand over the page of the steno pad she'd purchased..earlier that evening.
b. transitive. In passive. To be ready for something (or to do something); to be about to do something; to be set or arrayed in readiness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > prepare or get ready [verb (intransitive)] > be prepared or ready
Be prepared1579
to stand by1669
poise1773
to be loaded for bear(s)1888
to be loaded (for)1948
1773 A. L. Aikin Poems 43 The royal bird..holds his sounding pinions pois'd for flight.
1839 H. F. Gould Poems I. 95 She swings her foot on the fearful height, Like a bird of the ocean poised for flight.
1876 W. Marston Life for Life I. 136 The Mackanes—Near you, and poised to swoop upon your nest—Are by your brother and our clan o'ertaken.
1932 W. Faulkner Light in August xvii. 381 She looked exactly like a rock poised to plunge over a precipice.
1961 National Rev. 30 Dec. 462/3 The Free Chinese know that the situation on the Mainland is in flux, and are poised to strike.
1979 Daily Tel. 3 Feb. 1/1 British Petroleum was poised last night to make further reductions in oil deliveries to customers around the world.
2004 Orlando (Florida) Sentinel (Nexis) 9 Nov. e1 By 9:30, the lights and cameras are finally poised for action.
8. intransitive with reflexive meaning. To be balanced or held in equilibrium; to hang supported or suspended; to hover; to hold or put oneself in readiness or expectation. Also figurative. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > be or become equal [verb (intransitive)] > balance or be balanced
weigh1523
equipoise1647
equiponderate1648
poise1818
equilibrate1829
the world > space > relative position > support > absence of support > be unsupported [verb (intransitive)] > be held up without support
hangc1175
hovec1220
hover1578
to hang on the trip1681
poise1818
dream1828
balance1833
pendulize1869
1818 J. Keats Endymion ii. 96 As of some breathless racers, whose hopes poize Upon the last few steps.
1878 ‘G. Eliot’ College Breakfast Party in Macmillan's Mag. July 162 A butterfly..Poising in sunshine.
1898 C. M. Sheldon His Brother's Keeper iii. 64 The gravity of events that were evidently poising for a crisis left little room for anything but sober feeling.
1914 Aeroplane 11 Nov. 425/2 He poised..for a spell to spot the lurking place of the battery.
1986 H. Dunmore Sea Skater 49 Weasel poises and is distinguished For half a moment before he dives Into the wharf-side crowd.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.21913v.1389