poise
/pɔɪz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.04 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A CGS unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimetre.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "plants and animals, which are all made up of and nourished by water, and perhaps never return to water again, do not keep things at a poise"
- "Letterpress and offset gloss varnishes normally have viscosities varying from 50 to 250 poises; they must stain the paper as little as possible, have insufficient tack to cause plucking, […]"
- "as an huge rockie clift, / Whose false foundation waues haue washt away, / With dreadfull poyse is from the mayneland rift, / […] So downe he fell […]"
- "As for Hyperboles, I will neither quote Lucan, nor Statius, Men of an unbounded imagination, but who often wanted the Poyze of Judgement."
- "The slender, graceful spars / Poise aloft in the air."
- "one scale of reason to poise another of sensuality"
Etymology
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.