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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Poise \Poise\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Poised}, ; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Poising}.] [OE. poisen, peisen, OF. & F. peser, to weigh,
balance, OF. il peise, il poise, he weighs, F. il p[`e]se,
fr. L. pensare, v. intens. fr. pendere to weigh. See {Poise},
n., and cf. {Pensive}.] [Formerly written also {peise}.]
1. To balance; to make of equal weight; as, to poise the
scales of a balance.
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2. To hold or place in equilibrium or equiponderance.
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Nor yet was earth suspended in the sky;
Nor poised, did on her own foundation lie. --Dryden.
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3. To counterpoise; to counterbalance.
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One scale of reason to poise another of sensuality.
--Shak.
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To poise with solid sense a sprightly wit. --Dryden.
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4. To ascertain, as by the balance; to weigh.
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He can not sincerely consider the strength, poise
the weight, and discern the evidence. --South.
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5. To weigh (down); to oppress. [Obs.]
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Lest leaden slumber peise me down to-morrow. --Shak.
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balanced \bal"anced\ adj.
being in a state of proper balance or equilibrium; --
opposite of {unbalanced}. the carefully balanced seesaw a
properly balanced symphony orchestra a balanced assessment of
intellectual and cultural history a balanced blend of
whiskeys the educated man shows a balanced development of all
his powers [Narrower terms: {counterbalanced,
counter-balanced, counterpoised}; {well-balanced}; {poised}]
[Related terms: stable --- (maintaining equilibrium)]
[WordNet 1.5]