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Definition of pose - 8 dictionary results

pose

1  [pohz] verb, posed, pos⋅ing, noun
Use pose in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to assume a particular attitude or stance, esp. with the hope of impressing others: He likes to pose as an authority on literature.
2. to present oneself insincerely: He seems to be posing in all his behavior.
3. to assume or hold a physical attitude, as for an artistic purpose: to pose for a painter.
–verb (used with object)
4. to place in a suitable position or attitude for a picture, tableau, or the like: to pose a group for a photograph.
5. to assert, state, or put forward: That poses a difficult problem.
6. to put or place.
–noun
7. a bodily attitude or posture: Her pose had a note of defiance in it.
8. a mental attitude or posture: a pose cultivated by the upper classes.
9. the act or period of posing, as for a picture.
10. a position or attitude assumed in posing, or exhibited by a figure in a picture, sculptural work, tableau, or the like.
11. a moment in which a dancer remains motionless, usually in an assumed posture.
12. a studied attitude; affectation: His liberalism is merely a pose.
Origin:
1325–75; (v.) ME posen < MF poser < LL pausāre to stop, cease, rest, deriv. of L pausa pause; F poser has taken over the basic sense of L pōnere “to put, place” and represents it in F borrowings of its prefixed derivatives (see compose, depose, etc.), prob. reinforced by the accidental resemblance of poser to positum, ptp. of pōnere; (n.) deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
pos⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
3. sit, model. 7. See position.

pose

2  [pohz]
–verb (used with object), posed, pos⋅ing.
1. to embarrass or baffle, as by a difficult question or problem.
2. Obsolete. to examine by putting questions.
Origin:
1520–30; aph. var. of obs. appose, var. of oppose, used in sense of L appōnere to put to

po⋅sé

  [poh-zey; Fr. paw-zey]
–noun, plural -sés  [-zeyz; Fr. -zey] . Ballet.
a movement in which the dancer steps, in any desired position, from one foot to the other with a straight knee onto the flat foot, demi-pointe, or pointe.
Origin:
1925–30; < F: poised, ptp. of poser to pose; see pose 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pose
pose 1   (pōz)   
v.   posed, pos·ing, pos·es

v.   intr.

  1. To assume or hold a particular position or posture, as in sitting for a portrait.

  2. To affect a particular mental attitude.

  3. To represent oneself falsely; pretend to be other than what one is.

v.   tr.

  1. To place (a model, for example) in a specific position.

  2. To set forth in words; propound: pose a question.

  3. To put forward; present: pose a threat. See Synonyms at propose.

n.  

  1. A bodily attitude or position, especially one assumed for an artist or a photographer. See Synonyms at posture.

  2. A studied attitude assumed for effect. See Synonyms at affectation.


[Middle English posen, to place, from Old French poser, from Vulgar Latin *pausāre, from Late Latin pausāre, to rest, from Latin pausa, pause; see pause.]
pos'a·ble adj.
pose 2   (pōz)   
tr.v.   posed, pos·ing, pos·es
To puzzle, confuse, or baffle.

[Short for appose, to examine closely (from Middle English apposen, alteration of opposen; see oppose) and from French poser, to assume (obsolete) (from Old French; see pose1).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pose  (v.1)
"put in a certain position," c.1374, "suggest, propose, suppose, assume," from O.Fr. poser "put, place, propose," a term in debating, from L.L. pausare "to halt, rest, pause" (see pause). The O.Fr. verb acquired the sense of L. ponere "to put, place," by confusion of the similar stems. Sense of "to assume a certain attitude" is from 1850; the trans. sense (as an artist's model, etc.) is from 1859. The noun meaning "act of posing the body" is from 1818; its sense of "attitudinize" is from 1840. Poser "one who practices an affected attitude" is from 1881; revived in teen-ager slang 1980s.

pose  (v.2)
"to puzzle, confuse, perplex," 1593, earlier "question, interrogate" (1526), probably from M.Fr. poser "suppose, assume," from O.Fr. poser (see pose (v.1)). Also in some cases a shortening of Eng. appose "examine closely," and oppose. Poser "question that puzzles" is from 1793.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

POSE language A query language written in 1967.

["POSE: A Language for Posing Problems to Computers", S. Schlesinger et al, CACM 10:279-285, May 1967].
(1996-12-09)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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