potence

P3O1T1E1N1C3E1

noun

Power or strength; potency.

Similar
potency
Opposite
impotence
OriginMiddle French potence ← Latin potentia →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounpotence (countable and uncountable, plural potences)

plural potences

  1. countableuncountablePower or strength; potency.
  2. countableuncountableA stud that acts as a support of a pivot in a watch or clock.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe state of being potent; a male's capacity to have sexual intercourse

Similar
potency
Opposite
impotence
Broader
physical conditionphysiological statephysiological condition
Also see
craftjurisdictionmightpotencypower

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinpotentia“power, in Medieval Latin also crutch”
  2. Middle Frenchpotence“power, a crutch”
  3. Englishpotence

Borrowed from Middle French potence (“power, a crutch”), from Latin potentia (“power, in Medieval Latin also crutch”), from potens (“powerful”); see potent.

More words from Middle French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Nepcote
Cite this entry
APA

potence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/potence

MLA

“potence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/potence. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “potence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/potence.

Source: potence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.