Where does “impuissant” come from?
impuissant (English) comes from French impuissant, from French puissant, from Old French puissant, from Old French pooir, from Latin posso, from Finnish possu, from Finnish porsas, from Proto-Finnic porcas — passed , crossed.
impuissant (English): weak; impotent; feeble
Definitions
- weak; impotent; feeble
Ancestry of “impuissant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | impuissant | impotent, powerless; an impotent man |
| 2 | French | puissant | powerful; mighty |
| 3 | Old French | puissant | powerful; mighty |
| 4 | Old French | pooir | can; to be able to; power; ability; capability |
| 5 | Latin | posso | to be able |
| 6 | Finnish | possu | piggy, pig, piglet; a slovenly person; pork |
| 7 | Finnish | porsas | A piglet; Pork; A pig in the sense of messy,... |
| 8 | Proto-Finnic | porcas | piglet |
| 9 | Romanian | porc | pig (mammal of genus Sus), hog, swine |
| 10 | Latin | porcus | a piglet, a young pig; a pig, hog; Short for... |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | porkos | pig |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pórḱos | piglet |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | perḱ- | colored; motley; to open, rip up |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |