Where does “empowerment” come from?
Empowerment comes from English empower, combining English power with Old French -ment, from Latin -mentum and Latin in-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne meaning negation.
empowerment (English): The achievement of political, social or economic...
Definitions
- The achievement of political, social or economic...
Ancestry of “empowerment”, 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 |