English
pose
Pose comes from Old French poser ‘to put, place, stell, settle, lodge’, from Vulgar Latin pausāre ‘to blin, cease, pause’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek παύω ‘stop, end’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαύω‘stop, end’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαῦσιςpaûsis‘stopping, ceasing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpausa‘pause’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpausāre‘to blin, cease, pause’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poser‘to put, place, stell, settle, lodge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500posen
- Englishearliest quotation 1622pose
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαύω‘stop, end’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαῦσιςpaûsis‘stopping, ceasing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpausa‘pause’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpausāre‘to blin, cease, pause’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poser‘to put, place, stell, settle, lodge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500posen
- Englishearliest quotation 1622pose
Earliest quotation: 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam: “She pretended to […] pose him and sift him.”
The story
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.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’
few, poor, fewer, puppy, pupil, puppet, pediatrics, pave, filly, pedagogy, paucity, pupa, orthopedics, puerile, 30 more
through Ancient Greek παῦσις ‘stopping, ceasing’
through Latin pausa ‘pause’
Today it means
verb To place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek παύω / pose