[poiz] 
noun, verb, poised, pois⋅ing.| 1. | a state of balance or equilibrium, as from equality or equal distribution of weight; equipoise. |
| 2. | a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession: to show poise in company. |
| 3. | steadiness; stability: intellectual poise. |
| 4. | suspense or wavering, as between rest and motion or two phases of motion: the poise of the tides. |
| 5. | the way of being poised, held, or carried. |
| 6. | the state or position of hovering: the poise of a bird in the air. |
| 7. | to adjust, hold, or carry in equilibrium; balance evenly. |
| 8. | to hold supported or raised, as in position for casting, using, etc.: to poise a spear. |
| 9. | to hold or carry in a particular manner: She walked, carefully poising a water jug on her head. |
| 10. | Obsolete. to weigh. |
| 11. | to rest in equilibrium; be balanced. |
| 12. | to hover, as a bird in the air. |
[pwahz] | a centimeter-gram-second unit of viscosity, equal to the viscosity of a fluid in which a stress of one dyne per square centimeter is required to maintain a difference of velocity of one centimeter per second between two parallel planes in the fluid that lie in the direction of flow and are separated by a distance of one centimeter. Symbol: P |
| poise 1 (poiz) v. poised, pois·ing, pois·es v. tr. To carry or hold in equilibrium; balance. v. intr. To be balanced or held in suspension; hover. n.
[Middle English poisen, to balance, weigh, from Old French peser, pois-, from Vulgar Latin *pēsāre, from Latin pēnsāre; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.] |
| poise 2 (poiz; pwäz) n. A centimeter-gram-second unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimeter. [French, after Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille (1799-1869), French physician and physiologist.] |
poise (poiz, pwäz)
n.
A centimeter-gram-second unit of dynamic viscosity equal to one dyne-second per square centimeter.
| poise (poiz, pwäz) Pronunciation Key
The unit of dynamic viscosity in the centimeter-gram-second system, equal to one dyne-second per square centimeter, or 0.1 pascal-seconds. |