▪ I. poss, v. Now only dial.
(pɒs)
[Origin uncertain.
Possibly identical with *puss, pa. tense puste (a. F. pousser to push) which appears c 1300; the later form push appears rarely in 15th c., but is common after 1525. The form posshen in Langland may be either push or poss; but the vowel-change of u to o is not easily explained. The senses also coincide only partially with those of push; and, in sense 3, poss has much of the aspect of an onomatopœic formation. Perhaps it was an onomatopœic modification of the French vb.]
1. trans. To drive or thrust with a forcible or violent impact; to dash or toss with a blow or stroke; to knock: often expressing the action of waves on a boat, etc. Also fig.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 415 Þus possed to and fro. Al sterles with Inne a bot am I Middis the see, betwixe wyndis too. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 151 A cat..pleyde wiþ hem perilouslych and possed hem aboute. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2420 (Phillis) The se..possith hym now vp now doun. c 1400 Rom. Rose 4479 Thus am I possed up and doun With dool, thought, and confusioun. c 1402 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 236 And thus, betwixe twayne, I possed am, and all forcast in payne. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iv. ix. (1869) 181 In my bal day and niht I haue more ioye þan in al my fader tauhte me..; I posse it, j handele it, j pleye þer with. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. v. 203 Chorineus..Syne with hys kne him possit with sic ane plat, That on the erd he spaldit him all flat. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss. s.v., ‘Aw poss'd him ower heed’. |
† b. To push, shove, move by pressure. Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 410/2 Posson, or schowe forthe (K. pocyn, P. pressyn, or showen), pello. Posson, presson, or schowe togedur, trudo. |
2. absol. or intr. To thrust, to drive; to thrust or push at something with a weapon.
| a 1300 K. Horn 1011 (Camb. MS.) Þe se bigan to posse Riȝt in to Westernesse. c 1400 Langland's P. Pl. A. vii. 96 Mi plouh-pote schal be my pyk and posshen [v.r. to posse] atte Rootes. 1513 Douglas æneis x. xii. 116 Possand at hym wyth his stalwart speyr. |
3. trans. To pound, beat down flat, squash; spec. to beat or stamp (clothes, etc.) in water with a heavy pestle-like instrument, or to trample or stamp them with the feet, in the process of washing.
| 1611 Cotgr., Mettre à la flac, to..squash, clap, or posse downe. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. ii. v. (1668) 138 Take it forth, posse it, rinse it, and hang it up. 1677 Thoresby Corr. (ed. Hunter) II. 433 Nasty women possing clothes with their feet. 1825 Brockett N. C. Gloss. (1829) s.v., To ‘poss clothes’ in what is called a Poss-tub. 1828 Craven Gloss. (ed. 2), Poss, to dash, to shake anything violently in the water. |
† 4. intr. To splash, or tramp with splashing, in wet mud or water. Obs.
| 1575 Gamm. Gurton i. iv, To dyg and delue in water, myre and claye, Sossing and possing in the durte. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 306 This it is to posse in puddles. |
Hence (dial.) poss n.1, an act of ‘possing’, a thrust or knock; comb. poss-kit, poss-tub, a large tub in which clothes are ‘possed’ with a poss-stick in washing. ˈpossing vbl. n., also attrib. possing-tub.
| 1611 Cotgr., Culassé,..that hath receiued an arse-posse, or fall on the arse. 1821 Blackw. Mag. VIII. 432 The good old fashion..When double-girded ‘possing tubs’ were made. 1825 Poss-tub [see 3]. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Poss⁓kit, a large tub or barrel in which linen is ‘possed’ in hot water. The operation of possing..is performed by means of a staff with a thick knob at the immersed end, and a cross piece for a handle at the top. 1863 Mrs. Toogood Yorksh. Dial., Give the linen a good poss in the peggy tub. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 1/3 That her intelligence would have soared far beyond the pounding of dirty linen in ‘poss’ tubs. |
▪ II. † poss, n.2 Obs. rare—1.
[? = post: cf. post n.1 1 quot. 1340; or ? = posse.]
| a 1550 Image Ipocr. i. in Skelton's Wks. (1843) II. 419/1 With staves and crosses, With pillers and posses, With standers and banners, Without good life or manners. |
▪ III. poss, a.
(pɒs)
Also pos.
Colloq. abbrev. possible a. Chiefly in phrases if poss, as soon as poss.
| 1886–96 in Farmer & Henley Slang (1902) V. 260/1 While the public morals-shaper Thinks of writing to the paper To upset the show, if pos. 1909 Punch 3 Mar. 160/1 People tell me I ought to have all the amusement poss to prevent me from brooding, so I'm making an effort. 1916 A. Huxley Let. 30 June (1969) 104 Think over this and let us have it as soon as poss. 1959 P. Bull I know Face i. 27, I only came back with four ambitions in mind: to learn a little about acting (if poss.), [etc.]. 1972 D. Francis Smokescreen ii. 30 ‘Why the rush?’ ‘Well, I don't know, darling. She just said, could we come as soon as poss.’ |