POISE

Poise (?), n. [[OE. pois, peis, OF. pois, peis, F. poids, fr. L. pensum a portion weighed out, pendere to weigh, weigh out. Cf. Avoirdupois, Pendant, Poise, v.]] [Formerly written also peise.] 1. 1. Weight; gravity; that which causes a body to descend; heaviness. “Weights of an extraordinary poise.” Evelyn.
2. 2. The weight, or mass of metal, used in weighing, to balance the substance weighed.
3. 3. The state of being balanced by equal weight or power; equipoise; balance; equilibrium; rest. Bentley.
4. 4. That which causes a balance; a counterweight.
Men of unbounded imagination often want the poise of judgment. Dryden.