POINTSMAN
Points"man, n.; pl. -men (-men).
Defn: A man who has charge of railroad points or switches. [Eng.]
POINT SWITCH
Point switch. (Railroads)
Defn: A switch made up of a rail from each track, both rails being tapered far back and connected to throw alongside the through rail of either track.
POISE
Poise, n. Etym: [OE. pois, peis, OF. pois, peis, F. poids, fr. L.
pensum a portion weighed out, pendere to weigh, weigh out. Cf.
Avoirdupois, Pendant, Poise, v.] [Formerly written also peise.]
1. Weight; gravity; that which causes a body to descend; heaviness. "Weights of an extraordinary poise." Evelyn.
2. The weight, or mass of metal, used in weighing, to balance the substance weighed.
3. The state of being balanced by equal weight or power; equipoise; balance; equilibrium; rest. Bentley.
4. That which causes a balance; a counterweight. Men of unbounded imagination often want the poise of judgment. Dryden.
POISE Poise, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poised, (; p. pr. & vb. n. Poising.] Etym: [OE. poisen, peisen, OF. & F. peser, to weigh, balance, OF. il peise, il poise, he weighs, F. il pèse, fr. L. pensare, v. intens. fr. pendere to weigh. See Poise, n., and cf. Pensive.] [Formerly written also peise.]