Pose

How to spell pose

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce pose

What does pose mean?

1. verbTo hold a particular bodily position, especially for a photograph, portrait, or display.
2. verbTo put forward or present something such as a question, problem, or threat.
3. nounA particular position of the body, or an affected manner adopted to impress others.

Pose in a sentence

• verb

  The wedding party agreed to pose for one final group photograph.

• verb

  The flooding could pose a serious risk to the riverside houses.

• noun

  She held an elegant pose while the artist sketched her.

• verb

  Models often pose under hot studio lights for hours at a time.

• verb

  The interviewer planned to pose several difficult questions to the candidate.

• noun

  His casual confidence was really just a pose to hide his nerves.

Where does pose come from?

Language of origin: French

The word came into English in the late 1300s from the Old French verb poser, meaning 'to place, set, or lay down'. That French verb traces back to the Late Latin pausare, 'to halt or rest', but its meaning became tangled with the Latin ponere, 'to put or place', whose past participle was positus; this blending is why so many English words about placing things (compose, propose, expose, position) carry the 'pos' spelling. The earliest English uses meant simply to put something forward or to lay something down, and from there the sense of 'putting' a question or proposition developed. The familiar idea of holding a fixed bodily position for a painter or photographer grew up in the 1700s, and the disparaging sense of striking an affected attitude followed soon after. The silent final 'e' is the only mild trap, since the word is otherwise spelled exactly as it sounds.

How the word is built

• pos- (from Latin ponere/positus: to place, set down)
• silent -e