Where does “pouvoir” come from?

pouvoir (French) comes from Middle French povoir, from Old French povoir, from Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin potere, from Latin possum, from Proto-Italic *possom.

pouvoir (French): can, to be able to; may; to be possible; may,...

Definitions

  1. can, to be able to; may; to be possible; may,...

Ancestry of “pouvoir”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchpovoircan; be able to; power
2Old Frenchpovoir—
3Old FrenchpoeirAlternative form of pooir
4Vulgar Latinpotereto be able; second-person singular present...
5LatinpossumI am able, I can, I may
6Proto-Italic*possom—

Words derived from “pouvoir”

Every word from Proto-Italic *possom →Every word from Latin possum →Every word from Vulgar Latin potere →