Pose Meaning
/poʊz/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounCommon cold, head cold; catarrh.
verbTo place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect.
Sentence Examples
This generous offer may be a mere pose.
Examinations pose a big problem.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The fallen tree on the road will ____ a serious danger to all passing cars.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The photographer asked the family to ____ in front of the old oak tree for the portrait.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Now […] have we many chimnies, and yet our tenderlings complain of rheums, catarrhs, and poses."
— 1586, William Harrison, Description of England:
"Megg yesterday was troubled with a pose, Which, this night hardned, sodders up her nose."
— 1825, Robert Herrick, The poetical works of Robert Herrick:
"The Ague, Cough, the Pyony, the Pose. Aches within, and accidents without, [...]"
— 1903, Thomas Heywood, Lucian (of Samosata.), Desiderius Erasmus, Pleasant Dialogues and Dramma's:
"And whereas some say, that they which use oft washing of their heads shall be very prone to headache, that is not true, but only in such that, after they have been washed, roll up their hair (being yet wet) about their heads; the cold whereof is dangerous to bring them to catarrhs and poses, with other inconveniences."
— 2009, Eucharius Rösslin, Thomas Raynalde, Elaine Hobby, The Birth of Mankind:
"Rather, they are concerned with the threat Iran poses to the region and the world."
— 2010, Noam Chomsky, “The Iranian threat”, in Z Magazine, volume 23, number 7:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The fallen tree on the road will ____ a serious danger to all passing cars.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The photographer asked the family to ____ in front of the old oak tree for the portrait.