power (English)
Where does "power" come from?
The English noun 'power' descends from Middle English 'power'[1], which was borrowed from Old French and Anglo-Norman 'poeir'[1][2]. This French form traces back to Vulgar Latin 'potēre', a regularization of the Latin verb 'posse'[1][2]. The Latin verb itself combines '*potis', meaning master in control of, with '*som', meaning to be[3]. Along its historical path in English, this term eventually displaced the native Old English word 'anweald'[1].
Open questions
- The Proto-Indo-European root '*h₁es-' is connected to the meaning to be, with a possible relation to '*h₁eh₁s-' meaning to sit. [5]
Full etymology tree
- power (English), 'Strength, energy.'
- inherited power (Middle English), 'Ability, power or capability:'
- inherited poeir (Old French), 'alternative form of pooir'
- inherited potere (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of pōtō'
- derived posse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of possum (“to be able (to)”)'
- derived possum (Latin), 'be able to, can, may'
- inherited *possom (Proto-Italic)
- compound *potis (Proto-Italic), 'master, in control of'
- compound *ezom (Proto-Italic), 'to be'
- inherited *possom (Proto-Italic)
- derived possum (Latin), 'be able to, can, may'
- derived posse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of possum (“to be able (to)”)'
- inherited potere (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of pōtō'
- borrowed poer (Anglo-Norman)
- borrowed potere (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of pōtō'
- derived posse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of possum (“to be able (to)”)'
- derived possum (Latin), 'be able to, can, may'
- inherited *possom (Proto-Italic)
- compound *potis (Proto-Italic), 'master, in control of'
- compound *ezom (Proto-Italic), 'to be'
- inherited *possom (Proto-Italic)
- derived possum (Latin), 'be able to, can, may'
- derived posse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of possum (“to be able (to)”)'
- borrowed potere (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of pōtō'
- inherited poeir (Old French), 'alternative form of pooir'
- inherited power (Middle English), 'Ability, power or capability:'
Ancestors
- *h₁es- (Proto-Indo-European)
- power (Middle English)
- poeir (Old French)
- posso (Latin)
- possum (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- pouvoir (French)
Descendants and derived words
- A-B power (English)
- active power (English)
- agripower (English)
- airpower (English)
- antipower (English)
- antipower (English)
- atomic power (English)
- auxiliary power unit (English)
- axiom of power set (English)
- Axis power (English)
- balance of power (English)
- Banzhaf power index (English)
Sources
- power (English) - Wiktionary
- power (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- possum (Latin) - Wiktionary
- posso (Latin) - Wiktionary
- h₁es- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris