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potent

 [poht-nt]   Example Sentences Origin

po·tent

1   [poht-nt]
adjective
1.
powerful; mighty: a potent fighting force.
2.
cogent; persuasive: Several potent arguments were in his favor.
3.
producing powerful physical or chemical effects: a potent drug.
4.
having or exercising great power or influence: a potent factor in the economy.
5.
(of a male) capable of sexual intercourse.
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Origin:
1490–1500; < Latin potent- (stem of potēns), present participle of posse to be able, have power; see -ent

Related forms
po·tent·ly, adverb
po·tent·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. strong, puissant. See powerful. 4. influential.

Antonyms
1. weak. 4. ineffectual.

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Potent is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Example Sentences
  • That's why it's very potent.
  • Your potent prince, the constable, shall not save you.
  • And cattle and sheep emit 20% of the World's methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

po·tent

2   [poht-nt] Heraldry.
noun
1.
a fur having a pattern of T-shaped forms, placed in alternate directions and having alternating tinctures, one metal and one color, so that all forms of one tincture face the same way and are between, above, and below forms of the other tincture facing the other way.
2.
a T-shaped form used in potent or counterpotent.
adjective
3.
(of a cross) having a crosspiece at the extremity of each arm: a cross potent.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English potente crutch, variant of potence < French crutch, support < Medieval Latin potentia, Latin: power, potency
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
potent1 (ˈpəʊtənt)
 
—adj
1.  possessing great strength; powerful
2.  (of arguments, etc) persuasive or forceful
3.  influential or authoritative
4.  tending to produce violent physical or chemical effects: a potent poison
5.  (of a male) capable of having sexual intercourse
 
[C15: from Latin potēns able, from posse to be able]
 
'potently1
 
—adv
 
'potentness1
 
—n

potent2 (ˈpəʊtənt)
 
—adj
heraldry (of a cross) having flat bars across the ends of the arms
 
[C17: from obsolete potent a crutch, from Latin potentia power]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

potent
c.1500, from L. potentem (nom. potens) "powerful," prp. of *potere "be powerful," from potis "powerful, able, capable" (cognate with Skt. patih "master, husband," Gk. posis, Lith. patis "husband"). Meaning "having sexual power" is first recorded 1899. Potency is attested from 1539, from L. potentia "power,"
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from potentem "potent."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

potent po·tent (pōt'nt)
adj.

  1. Exerting or capable of exerting strong physiological or chemical effects.

  2. Able to perform sexual intercourse. Used of a male.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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