Emily Dickinson Lexicon

posthumous, adj. [L. postumus, last, late-born, posthumous; in Late L. written posthumus through erroneous attribution to humus, earth or humāre, to bury.]

1. After death; subsequent to burial; in the grave.
2. Post-mortal; celestial; heavenly.

postponeless, adj. [L. postpōněre, put after, postpone, neglect < post, after + pōněre, place, put down + OE léas, devoid of, free from.]

Inevitable; impending; imminent; destined; pre-determined; unavoidable; inescapable; unstoppable; inexorable.

postulate, n. [L. postulātum, thing demanded or claimed.]

Basis; premise; assumption; axiom; prerequisite; basic tenet; fundamental principle; essential condition.

postulate (-d), v. [L. postulāre, demand, request.]

Guess; conjecture; assume; presume; speculate; suppose; surmise; suspect; estimate; calculate; infer; reason; deduce; extrapolate; conclude.

posture, n. [Fr. < L. positūra, position, posture.] (webplay: attitude, expressed, eye, learnt, soul).

1. Attitude; disposition; bearing; demeanor; characteristic manner.
2. Position; stance; situation; arrangement of the body; manner of standing.
3. Placing; act of positioning; [fig.] sound of putting in a lock.
4. [Fig.] physical form; tangible frame; material body.

potential, adj. [ME < late L. potentia, power.] (webplay: power).

1. Important; significant; momentous; noteworthy; noticeable; powerful; influential; disturbing the natural course of events.
2. Possible; prospective; expected; inevitable; unavoidable; predictable; likely to occur in the future.

Potomac, proper n. [Algonquin, possibly meaning 'place of burning pine', 'they are coming by water', or 'something brought'.]

River in the eastern United States; waterway that flows from West Virginia into the Chesapeake Bay; site that was blockaded in the Civil War from October 1962 to January 1963; [fig.] mortality; life on earth; (see ED letters).

Potosi, proper n. [Possibly Quecha potojchi, thunder, place of much noise.]

Former capital of Bolivia; city in South America named for San Luis Potosí; location of famous silver mines; [fig.] money; riches; treasure; fortune; luxury; extensive material possession; [metaphor] joy; delight; pleasure of seeing someone (see ED letters).

pounce, v. [poss. related to L. pungěre, prick, pierce.]

Jump; leap; spring; swoop; attack; assault; assail; fall or descend suddenly.

pound, n. [OE *pund, origin obscure.]

Prison; jail; detention facility; holding place for impounded animals; enclosure for confinement of stray creatures.