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potestas. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
potestas, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
potestas in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
potestas you have here. The definition of the word
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Latin
Etymology
From Proto-Italic *potistāts. Equivalent to potis + -tās.
Pronunciation
Noun
potestās f (genitive potestātis); third declension
- power, ability
- mastery, control
- authority, jurisdiction
- dominion, political power
- Synonyms: dicio, imperium, arbitrium, auctōritās
- right, legal power
- (of a word) meaning
- possibility, opportunity
Declension
Third-declension noun.
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “potestas”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “potestas”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- potestas in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- potestas in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- power over life and death: potestas vitae necisque
- to be in a person's power: in manu, in potestate alicuius situm, positum esse
- to give a man the opportunity of doing a thing: potestatem, copiam alicui dare, facere with Gen. gerund.
- to deprive a man of the chance of doing a thing: facultatem, potestatem alicui eripere, adimere
- to give audience to some one: sui potestatem facere, praebere alicui
- despotic, tyrannous rule: potestas immoderata, infinita
- to give up, lay down office (usually at the end of one's term of office): de potestate decedere
- he has power over life and death: potestatem habet in aliquem vitae necisque (B. G. 1. 16. 5)
- to give up one's person and all one's possessions to the conqueror: se suaque omnia permittere victoris potestati
- to surrender oneself to the discretion of some one: se permittere in fidem atque in potestatem alicuius (B. G. 2. 3)
- to offer battle to the enemy: potestatem, copiam pugnandi hostibus facere
- to accept battle: potestatem sui facere (alicui) (cf. sect. XII. 9, note audientia...)
- to reduce a country to subjection to oneself: populum in potestatem suam redigere (B. G. 2. 34)
- to make oneself master of a people, country: populum, terram suo imperio, suae potestati subicere (not sibi by itself)
- to make one's submission to some one: in alicuius potestatem se permittere
- to be subject to some one, under some one's dominion: in potestate, in dicione alicuius esse
- “potestas”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- potestas in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
- “potestas”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin