The story
- Latin · derived frompotens, potentis“powerful, strong, potent”
- Middle English · inherited frompotent
- English todaypotent
From Middle English potent, borrowed from Latin potens, potentis (“powerful, strong, potent”), present participle of posse (“to be able”), from potis (“able, powerful, originally a lord, master”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.