Puissance

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpjuːɪ.s(ə)ns/

Definitions

1. A quality of possessing immense strength or power can relate to impactful influence in social or political contexts
2. it denotes the ability to exert control and command respect through various means of potency
3. A term that describes the capability to exert significant influence or authority while also encompassing physical strength or power in various contexts

Etymology: Puissance comes from the same root as "power" itself. Its ancestor is the Latin verb "posse," meaning "to be able," which combined with "esse" ("to be") to give "posse" in the sense of being capable. Over time that idea of ability hardened into a French adjective, "puissant," meaning powerful, and the noun grew out of it. The word arrived in Middle English as "puissaunce," carried in from Anglo-Norman, the form of French spoken by the English ruling class after 1066. English speakers have long leaned on it for force and might, especially in contexts of armies, kingdoms and heavy machinery. Its most distinctive modern twist is that it survives mostly in poetry, formal writing and set phrases, while its close relative "power" took over almost everything else. Puissance also gave English a clear sense of physical strength, which "power" has only partly kept.

Synonyms: power, strength, might, force, capability

Antonyms: weakness, inability, impotence, ineffectiveness, feebleness