Plenipotency

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The status of having full power to represent and make decisions for another party
2. The condition of exercising complete authority on behalf of someone else in a formal capacity
3. The state of being fully empowered to act and make decisions for someone else

Etymology: "Plenipotency" is a variant of "plenipotence," and both come from the same Latin roots: "plenus," meaning "full," and "potentia," meaning "power" or "ability." Put together, they describe a person who holds full power. The word is built from the same stock as "plenipotentiary," the term for a diplomat or envoy authorized to act and sign agreements on behalf of a government, and the noun names the condition of holding that complete authority. The word's structure is plain: "plenus" supplies the "pleni-" part (seen also in "plenty" and "plenary"), and "potentia" supplies "-potency," from the same root as "potent" and "potential." Because "plenipotentiary" has been used for centuries in diplomacy, the abstract noun tends to appear wherever that kind of delegated authority is discussed.

Synonyms: full powers, delegated authority