Composure is calm control of yourself when things go wrong. The voice stays level and the hands stay still.
It is what people are admired for in a crisis, and regaining your composure after losing it is a standard phrase. It takes no preposition. The word overlaps with self-possession and poise, and composure suits pressure while poise suits social situations. Sport uses it constantly, since a player showing composure in front of goal has not panicked. The verb compose is used reflexively for the same idea.
1nouncomposureCalm self-control in a difficult situation.
“She kept her composure throughout the questioning.”
Proto-Indo-European
*tḱey-
Latin
componere — to put together, compose
Old French
composer — to compose, compound, adjust, settle
Middle English
composen
English
compose
English, today
composure
Built from
From compose + -ure. compose comes from Middle English composen, from Old French composer (“to compose, compound, adjust, settle”), from com- + poser, as an adaptation of Latin componere (“to put together, compose”), from com- (“together”) + ponere (“to put, place”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA