poustie

P3O1U1S1T1I1E1
UK/ˈpuːsti/UK/ˈpaʊsti/

noun

Power, authority, strength, health.

OriginMiddle English pouste ← Anglo-Norman pousté ← Old French poesté →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounpoustie (uncountable)
  1. IrelandScotlanduncountablePower, authority, strength, health.

    2020 Department of Health (NI), An Roinn Sláinte, Männystrie O Poustie

    1 more example

    ‘A, good knyght,’ seyde he, ‘thou arte a foole; for that jantillwoman was the mayster fyende of helle, which hath pouste over all other devyllis[…].’

    1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XIV

Origin

  1. Latinpotestās“power”
  2. Old Frenchpoesté
  3. Anglo-Normanpousté
  4. Middle Englishpouste
  5. Englishpoustie

From Middle English pouste, from Anglo-Norman pousté, Old French poesté, posté etc., from (the stem of) Latin potestās (“power”). Doublet of podesta.

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

piteous
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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