Where does “empowered” come from?
Empowered derives from English empower, from Old English power with the prefix Old French en-, ultimately from Latin in- and Latin in, tracing back through Proto-Indo-European ne.
empowered (English): Having been given the power to make choices...
Definitions
- Having been given the power to make choices...
Ancestry of “empowered”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | empower | To give permission, power, or the legal right to... |
| 2 | English | Power | A button of a computer, a video game console, or... |
| 3 | Middle English | power | Ability, power or capability |
| 4 | Anglo-Norman | poer | — |
| 5 | Latin | potēre | — |
| 6 | Latin | posse | present active infinitive of possum "to be able... |
| 7 | Latin | potis | able, capable, possible |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | potis | master, in control of |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pótis | master, ruler; husband |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ph₃tis | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₃- | to drink |