Both Uses of
poise
in
The Call of the Wild
- His newborn cunning gave him poise and control.†
p. 47.4
- The dog-driver held the axe poised in his hand, and as Buck shot past him the axe crashed down upon mad Dolly's head.†
p. 57.7 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(poise) calm, confident, and in control—especially in movement, behavior, or when ready to act
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, poise is a technical word referencing a unit of dynamic viscosity.