stance

The fencer’s stance showed he was ready to begin.

I don’t agree with your stance on gun control.

In a harness belay, the stance itself is the belayer's first line of defense, reducing the load the anchor must hold. The anchor in this case serves as little more than a backup (albeit a critical one) to the stance.

The number of Carriages at each of the Stances or divisions of Stances, and the spaces to be occupied, shall be fixed from time to time as may be found necessary. In the event of any New Stance being appointed during the currency of these Regulations, if said Stance shall be within half a mile of the nearest fixed Stance, the Fares from said New Stance shall be the same as from the Stance nearest to it.

To the action by the proprietor of a tenement in burgh against the proprietor of the adjoining stance to recover one-half the cost of a mutual gable, of which the defender had taken the use, it was pleaded in defence (1) that the mutual gable having been erected by the common author of the parties no claim arose to the proprietor of one stance against the proprietor of the other; […]

Other Muſique, and voyces; and this ſecond Stance was ſung, directing their obſeruance to the King. […] This ended the Phœbades ſung the third Stance.