Etymology

potential

po·ten·tial
P3O1T1E1N1T1I1A1L1

Today it means: A currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to). Full definition →

Late Latin potentialis ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← Latin potentia
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pótis
  2. Proto-Italic*potis
  3. Proto-Italic*potēō
  4. Proto-Italic*potēnts
  5. Latinpotēns
  6. Latinpotentia
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  9. Late Latinpotentialis
  10. English todaypotential

From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”). By surface analysis, potent + -ial.

Words from the same roots

Latinpotentia all →

potencypotence

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.