English
power
Power comes from Old French poeir ‘to be able; power, ability’, from Vulgar Latin potēre, from Latin possum ‘to be able, can’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *possom, from *potis ‘master’ + *som ‘to be’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*possomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossum‘to be able, can’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpotēre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poeir‘to be able; power, ability’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500power
- Englishearliest quotation 1577same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*possomreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossum‘to be able, can’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEpotēre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400poeir‘to be able; power, ability’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500power
- Englishearliest quotation 1577same form
Earliest quotation: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England: “The threatning words of duke Robert comming at the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’
be, been, future, build, physical, improve, bond, represent, bush, bound, contribution, presentation, physician, booth, approve, probability, favorable, distribute, contributor, fiat, bun, favourable, bouquet, retribution, attribution, imp, absentee, rebuke, aren, absentia, bosque, phylogeny, physic, phylum, approbation, beamer, boor, bower, bist, futur, 74 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt ‘to become’
present, presence, essential, absence, entity, absent, bondage, busk, 15 more
through Proto-Italic *som
impossible, impossibility, 5 more
through Proto-Italic *possom
possible, possibility, impotent, 7 more
through Latin posse
Today it means
noun The ability to do or undergo something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *possom / power