equipoise en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈɛkwɪpɔɪz/
- (US) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *aikʷos? Old Latin aiquos Latin aequus Latin aequi-der. English equi- English poise English equipoise From equi- + poise.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) A state of balance; equilibrium.
“An easy evasion”, retorted the excited bride, who had lost her mental equipoise.
1869, T. S. Arthur, chapter IV, in After the Storm:And I saw him thus absorbed in godly pursuits in the midst of business, not once or twice, but very often. I never saw him lose his state of equipoise.
1927–1929, M[ohandas] K[aramchand] Gandhi, “Raychandbhai”, in The Story of My Experiments with Truth: Translated from the Original in Gujarati, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Navajivan Press, →OCLC:The words were not without emotion, and retained their level tone as if by a careful equipoise between imminent extremes.
1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, “The Figure against the Sky”, in The Return of the Native […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC, book I (The Three Women), page 135:Government was unnerved, confounded, and in a manner suspended. Its equipoise was totally gone.
1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, […], London: […] J. Owen, […], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC:To my mind, the textual arguments in this case are close to equipoise.
2021, Ronald Mann, Justices to consider awards of costs of appellate litigation, SCOTUSblog (Apr. 20, 2021)
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(countable, uncountable) A counterbalance.
The cone's not fixed, it's hung by a chain from a lever, and balanced by an equipoise.
1895 September 18, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Cone”, in The Plattner Story and Others, London: Methuen & Co. […], published March 1897, →OCLC, page 188:Perhaps that quality which existed, in spite of the equipoise against it, in Sir Howard, was fidelity in friendship.
1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XI, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 136:Her smiling equipoise is a statement of self-confident power against his sour fuming.
2024 September 12, David Brooks, “How a Cultural Shift Favors Harris”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| æquipoise | alternative | lexicographic | |
| equipoises | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (6)
el εξισορρόπηση (counterbalance) · es contrapeso (counterbalance) · nl tegenwicht (counterbalance) · bg противотежест (counterbalance) · el αντιστάθμιση (counterbalance) · ru противовес (counterbalance)