power (English)
Where does "power" come from?
The word 'power' traces its roots back to the Latin verb 'posse,' meaning 'to be able,' which itself was a combination of 'potis' (master or able) and 'sum' (to be). It evolved into the Vulgar Latin 'potēre' before entering Old French as 'poeir' and eventually Middle English. Over time, it replaced the native Old English term 'anweald' and expanded in meaning from basic physical capability to include political authority, energy, and even mathematical concepts.
Full etymology tree
- power (English), 'Strength, energy.'
- inherited poer (Middle English), 'alternative form of power'
- borrowed poer (Anglo-Norman)
- derived potēre (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of pōtō'
- derived posse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of possum (“to be able (to)”)'
- inherited *possom (Proto-Italic)
- compound *potis (Proto-Italic), 'master, in control of'
- inherited *pótis (Proto-Indo-European), 'master, ruler'
- compound *som (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *h₁es- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be'
- compound *potis (Proto-Italic), 'master, in control of'
- inherited *possom (Proto-Italic)
- derived posse (Latin), 'present active infinitive of possum (“to be able (to)”)'
- derived potēre (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of pōtō'
- borrowed poer (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited poer (Middle English), 'alternative form of power'
Direct ancestors
- h₁es- (Proto-Indo-European)
- power (Middle English)
- poeir (Old French)
- posso (Latin)
- possum (Latin)
- pouvoir (French)
- anweald (Old English)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris