Where does “potentiate” come from?
Potentiate comes from English potent plus the suffix -y, from Latin potens meaning "powerful," derived from possum meaning "to be able," influenced by Latin suffixes -ia, -ivus, and -ia, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos.
potentiate (English): To endow with power; To enhance; To increase the...
Definitions
- To endow with power; To enhance; To increase the...
Ancestry of “potentiate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | potent | Possessing strength; Powerfully effective; Having... |
| 2 | Middle English | potent | — |
| 3 | Latin | potēns | — |
| 4 | Latin | posse | present active infinitive of possum "to be able... |
| 5 | Latin | potis | able, capable, possible |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | potis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pótis | master, ruler; husband |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ph₃tis | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | peh₃- | to drink |