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Definition of poses - 5 dictionary results

pose

1  [pohz] verb, posed, pos⋅ing, noun
Use poses 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 poses
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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