Word of the Day: COMPOSURE
Serenity or self-possession
composure (noun) - a deliberate or practiced state of emotional or mental control; a calm, steady demeanor [kuhm-poh-zher]
BREAKDOWN: COM- (together) + POS- (to put or place) + -URE (state)
composed means to be calm and in control of one’s emotions
See also: indispose, juxtaposition, predispose, posit, repose, transpose
“Always keep your composure. You can’t score from the penalty box; and to win, you have to score.” —Bobby Hull
The POS- root is one of the most versatile in English, but what strikes me about COMPOSURE is the physical metaphor embedded in it. COM- (together) + POS- (to put) literally means "to put yourself together." The opposite, "decompose," is what happens when things fall apart.
There's something profound about the idea that emotional stability is an act of construction — you're not just calm, you're *assembled*. Deliberately arranging the pieces. The Bobby Hull quote captures this perfectly: composure isn't passive serenity, it's strategic. You keep your composure so you can stay in the game and score.