Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EQUIPOISE

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connect today's word to others: Do people drive you crazy by writing the phrase "a lot" as if it were a single word, "alot"? Maybe they're just ahead of their time. When we use a phrase for hundreds of years, we allow the spaces between words to disappear. Ages ago, we'd write "equal poise" (meaning "equal weight" or "equilibrium"), but by 1625 we were nestling "equal" and "poise" together with a cozy hyphen, and by 1661 we had jammed them into a single word. Today, it's equipoise. Let's make some connections. It's pretty obvious how equipoise is related to equanimity: both are about evenness, steadiness. (Can you define equanimity?) Less obvious is how equipoise is related to pen___nt (a strong preference for something) and pen__ve (gloomy and deep in thought). We can trace them all back to the Latin pendere, meaning "to hang" or "to weigh." That is, when you're feeling pen__ve, things are weighing on you, and you're weighing things in your mind; your pen___nts are your leanings: the things you lean towards or hang onto; and equipoise is a state of even weight, or a state of balance. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "EQUIPOISE" Today, the noun "poise" usually means "grace," "balance," or "dignity." But an old meaning of "poise" is "a weight."  Equipoise is "equal poise" in the sense of "equal weight." It's an equal distribution of weight, or more generally, a state of balance. Pronunciation: EEK wih poyze. (Some dictionaries also recognize "ECK wih poyze.") Part of speech: Noun. Usually, the uncountable kind. (Like "milk," "rice," and "advice," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of advice," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many advices." Likewise, talk about "the equipoise," "this equipoise," "such equipoise," "no equipoise," and so on, but it's much less common to talk about "an equipoise," "one equipoise," or "equipoises.") Other forms: None are common. But you can equipoise things, and talk about things that are equipoised or equipoising. And maybe we can rescue the adjective "equipendent" from obsolescence. I won't hold my breath. How to use it: "Equipoise" is one of those formal, lovely words that totally doesn't need to exist. Every time you use it, see it, or hear it, you could easily swap it out for "balance," or if you want more syllables, "equilibrium" (which is about 9 times more common than "equipoise"). Still, "equipoise" is beautiful, so we use it.  Talk about the equipoise of or between two things, often opposite things or competing forces: "the equipoise of giving and receiving," "the equipoise between narration and dialogue." (Does it always have to be two things? No, it just usually is.) You can say that one thing is in equipoise with another thing. Or say that two (or more) things are in equipoise (or no longer in equipoise), that things achieve equipoise, that things hang in equipoise, that things keep or maintain their equipoise, and so on. Or, talk about people finding or establishing equipoise, bringing or returning something to equipoise, holding two ideas in equipoise, etc. Add an adjective, if you like. You could have a tense or wobbly equipoise, or a firm or longstanding equipoise. An emotional equipoise could be a state of balance between, say, caution and eagerness. The more literal meaning of "equipoise" is "a balance of weight," so if you say that someone lost her equipoise, you're probably being literal--and silly in your word choice--because you mean she fell down. But when some speakers talk about people losing their equipoise, you know when they say "equipoise" that they really mean "poise, composure, equanimity." I advise against using "equipoise" in that way, because that meaning isn't listed in dictionaries, and because you don't want to suffer from the sounds-like syndrome.  examples: It's graceful, really, how he holds the needs of his employees in equipoise with those of his clientele. Throughout the book, her emphasis on facts and her sheer glee at the wonder of it all hang in equipoise. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "equipoise" means when you can explain it without saying "equilibrium" or "steadiness." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "It's a struggle for me to keep _____ and _____ in equipoise." Example: "It's a struggle for me to keep paid and unpaid projects in equipoise." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. This month, see if you can associate a snippet of song lyrics with a word we’ve studied before. For example, here's Dave Matthews: "Wasting time, let the hours roll by doing nothing for the fun. A little taste of the good life." Those lyrics call to mind the word LOTUS-EATING. From our previous issue:  In "Ironic," Alanis Morissette sings:   "Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you When you think everything's okay and everything's going right And life has a funny way of helping you out when You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up In your face." Do those lyrics call to mind the word LODESTONE, DETRITUS, or VICISSITUDES? Why? Answer: VICISSITUDES. These are life's unpredictable changes. They just happen. Sometimes, they're ironic. Try this today: In "Dancing in the Moonlight," Sherman Kelly sings:   "We like our fun and we never fight You can't dance and stay uptight It's a supernatural delight Everybody was dancin' in the moonlight." Do those lyrics call to mind the word DEVIANT, JOVIAL, or VESUVIAN? Why? review today's word: 1. One opposite of EQUIPOISE is A. SLOUCHING. B. AGGRESSION. C. LOPSIDEDNESS. 2. In his essay, Stevenson highlights the equipoise _____ within Shakespeare's iambic lines. A. of poetic charm B. between variety and consistency C. of a "barbaric love" of alliteration Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B