pose
UK /pəʊz/ · US /poʊz/ noun, verb, adjective
- noun (archaic) Common cold, head cold; catarrh.
- verb (transitive) To place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect. “To pose a model for a picture.”
- verb (transitive) To ask; to set (a test, quiz, riddle, etc.).
- verb (transitive) To constitute (a danger, a threat, a risk, etc.).
- verb (transitive, in the phrase "to pose as") To falsely impersonate (another person or occupation) primarily for the purpose of accomplishing something or reaching a goal.
- verb (intransitive) To assume or maintain a pose; to strike an attitude.
- verb (intransitive) To behave affectedly in order to attract interest or admiration.
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To interrogate; to question.
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To question with a view to puzzling; to embarrass by questioning or scrutiny; to bring to a stand.
- noun Position, posture, arrangement (especially of the human body). “Please adopt a more graceful pose for my camera.”
- noun Affectation.
- verb (obsolete) To ask (someone) questions; to interrogate.
- verb (now rare) to puzzle, non-plus, or embarrass with difficult questions.
- verb (now rare) To perplex or confuse (someone).
- adjective (ballet, dance) Held in position for a prolonged period.
Synonyms
airs affectation mannerism affectedness present model sit posture impersonate personate put set place position lay perplex vex stick get puzzle mystify baffle beat bewilder flummox stupefy nonplus gravel amaze dumbfound
Etymology
From Middle English pose, from Old English ġeposu pl (“cold in the head; catarrh”, literally “(the) sneezes; (the) snorts”), from Old English pos, ġepos (“sneeze, snort”), from Proto-West Germanic *pos, from Proto-Germanic *pusą (“sneeze, snort”), from Proto-Germanic *pusōną, *pusjaną (“to snort, blow”), from *pus- (“to blow, breathe hard”), from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“to blow, swell”). Compare Low German pusten (“to blow, puff”), German dialectal pfausen (“to sneeze, snort”), Norwegian dialectal pysa (“to blow”).
From Middle English posen, from Old French poser (“to put, place, stell, settle, lodge”), from Vulgar Latin pausāre (“to blin, cease, pause”), from Latin pausa (“pause”), from Ancient Greek παῦσις (paûsis); influenced by Latin pōnere. Doublet of pause.
From Middle English posen, a combination of aphetic forms of Middle English aposen and opposen. More at appose, oppose.
Borrowed from French posé (“placed, posed”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Standing still, with all the feet on the ground; --said of the attitude of a lion, horse, or other beast.
- noun A cold in the head; catarrh. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- noun The attitude or position of a person; the position of the body or of any member of the body; especially, a position formally assumed for the sake of effect; an artificial position; as, the pose of an actor; the pose of an artist's model or of a statue.
- verb To place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect; to arrange the posture and drapery of (a person) in a studied manner; as, to pose a model for a picture; to pose a sitter for a portrait.
Etymology [F., placed, posed.]
Etymology [AS. gepose; of uncertain origin; cf. W. pas a cough, Skr. kas to cough, and E. wheeze.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pose”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details