power
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Power
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
- powre (obsolete)
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English poer, from Old French poer, from Medieval Latin *potere, for Latin posse (“to be able”); see potent.
[edit] Pronunciation
- (RP) IPA: /paʊə(ɹ)/, SAMPA: /paU@/
- (GenAm) IPA: /paʊɚ/, SAMPA: /paU@`/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aʊər
- Hyphenation: pow‧er
[edit] Noun
power (countable and uncountable; plural powers)
- (countable) capability or influence.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book III, chapter ii
- An incident which happened about this time will set the characters of these two lads more fairly before the discerning reader than is in the power of the longest dissertation.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book III, chapter iii
- Thwackum, on the contrary, maintained that the human mind, since the fall, was nothing but a sink of iniquity, till purified and redeemed by grace. ... The favourite phrase of the former, was the natural beauty of virtue; that of the latter, was the divine power of grace.
- 1998, Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
- Past and future obviously have no reality of their own. Just as the moon has no light of its own, but can only reflect the light of the sun, so are past and future only pale reflections of the light, power, and reality of the eternal present.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book III, chapter ii
- (uncountable) physical force or strength.
- He needed a lot of power to hit the ball out of the stadium.
- control, particularly legal or political (jurisdiction)
- 2005, Columbia Law Review, April
- In the face of expanding federal power, California in particular struggled to maintain control over its Chinese population.
- 2005, Columbia Law Review, April
- (uncountable) electricity or a supply of electricity.
- After the pylons collapsed, this town was without power for a few days.
- (uncountable, physics) A measure of the rate of doing work or transferring energy.
- (uncountable, physics) A rate to magnify an optical image by a lens or mirror.
- We need a microscope with higher power.
- (biblical) In Christian angelology, the fourth level of angels, ranked above archangels and below principalities
- (mathematics) A product of equal factors. Notation and usage: xn, read as "x to the power of n" or "x to the nth power", denotes x × x × ... × x, in which x appears n times, where n is called the exponent; the definition is extended to non-integer and complex exponents.
- (set theory) Cardinality.
- (statistics) The probability that a statistical test will reject the null hypothesis when the alternative hypothesis is true.
[edit] Usage notes
- Adjectives often used with "power": electric, nuclear, solar, optical, mechanical, political, absolute, corporate, institutional, military, economic, solar, magic, magical, huge, physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, sexual, seductive, coercive, erotic, natural, cultural, positive, negative, etc.
[edit] Synonyms
Terms synonymous with one or more senses of power (noun)
- See also Wikisaurus:power
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from power (noun)
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
influence
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physical force or strength
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electricity supply
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physics: measure of the rate of doing work or transferring energy
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physics: a rate to magnify an optical image by a lens or mirror
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fourth level of angels
mathematics: product of equal factors
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cardinality — see cardinality
nation having a strong military and/or economy
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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[edit] Verb
power (third-person singular simple present powers, present participle powering, simple past and past participle powered)
- (transitive) To provide power for (a mechanical or electronic device).
- This CD player is powered by batteries.
- (transitive) To hit or kick something forcefully.
- 2011 February 1, Mandeep Sanghera, “Man Utd 3 - 1 Aston Villa”, BBC:
- United keeper Edwin van der Sar was the unlikely provider as his clearance found Rooney, who had got ahead of last defender Richard Dunne, and the forward brilliantly controlled a ball coming from over his shoulder before powering a shot past Brad Friedel.
- 2011 February 1, Mandeep Sanghera, “Man Utd 3 - 1 Aston Villa”, BBC:
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
provide power for
[edit] Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: large · within · room · #263: power · mother · often · themselves
[edit] External links
- power at OneLook Dictionary Search
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- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
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