potential

See also: Potential

English

Etymology

From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”). By surface analysis, potent +‎ -ial.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /pəˈtɛnʃəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /po(ʊ)ˈtɛnʃəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: po‧ten‧tial

Noun

potential (countable and uncountable, plural potentials)

1. A currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to).

   Even from a young age it was clear that she had the potential to become a great musician.

   • 1990, The Hunt for Red October, →OCLC:

     Comrades, our own fleet doesn't know our full potential. They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment.

   • 2022 December 31, Sarah Andersen, “The Alt-Right Manipulated My Comic. Then A.I. Claimed It.”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     With some technical improvement, I could see how the process of imitating my work would soon become fast and streamlined, and the many dark potentials bubbled to the forefront of my mind.

2. (physics) The gravitational potential: the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.
3. (physics) The work (energy) required to move a reference particle from a reference location to a specified location in the presence of a force field, for example to bring a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a specified point against an electric field.
4. (grammar) A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.

Synonyms

• noumenon
• spirit

 

Antonyms

• matter
• phenomenon

 

Derived terms

Compound words

• after-potential, afterpotential
• eigenpotential
• electropotential
• hydropotential
• multipotential
• myopotential
• subpotential
• tripotential
• vectorpotential

 

Expressions

• action potential
• decomposition potential
• demarcation potential
• electric potential
• electrode potential
• event-related potential
• evoked potential
• human potential movement
• injury potential
• Lennard-Jones potential (LJ potential)
• membrane potential
• normal potential
• potential theory
• potential vorticity
• redox potential
• resting potential
• standard electrode potential
• threshold potential
• velocity potential
• water potential
• zeta potential

Related terms

• potence
• potency
• potent
• potentate
• potentiality

 

Translations

currently unrealized ability

• Armenian: ներուժ (hy) (neruž), պոտենցիալ (hy) (potencʿial)
• Bulgarian: потенциал (bg) n (potencial)
• Catalan: potencial (ca)
• Chinese:
• Esperanto: potencialo n
• Finnish: potentiaali (fi)
• French: possibilités (fr) f pl, potentiel (fr) m
• Galician: potencial (gl)
• German: Potential (de) n
• Greek: δυναμικό (el) n (dynamikó)

  Ancient: δυναμικόν n (dunamikón)

• Hungarian: potenciál (hu)
• Irish: cumas (ga) m, acmhainneacht f
• Italian: potenziale (it)
• Japanese: 可能性 (ja) (かのうせい, kanōsei), ポテンシャル (ja) (potensharu), 潜在力 (せんざいりょく, senzairyoku), 潜在能力 (ja) (せんざいのうりょく, senzai nōryoku)
• Korean: 가능성(可能性) (ko) (ganeungseong), 잠재력(潛在力) (ko) (jamjaeryeok)
• Kyrgyz: дарамет (ky) (daramet), кудурет (ky) (kuduret), магдыр (magdır)
• Lao: ສັກກະຍະພາບ (sak ka nya phāp), ທ່າແຮງ (thā hǣng)
• Malay: potensi
• Mandarin: 潛力／潜力 (zh) (qiánlì), 潜力 (zh) (qiánlì), 潛質／潜质, 潜质 (qiánzhì)
• Maori: pito mata, torohū
• Polish: potencjał (pl) m
• Portuguese: potencial (pt) m
• Romanian: potențial (ro) n
• Russian: потенциа́л (ru) m (potɛnciál)
• Spanish: potencial (es) m
• Swedish: potential (sv) c
• Thai: ศักยภาพ (th) (sàk-gà-yá-pâap)
• Turkish: gizil (tr), gizli (tr), potansiyel (tr)
• Ukrainian: потенціа́л m (potenciál)
• Vietnamese: tiềm năng (vi)

physics: the radial component of a gravitational field

• Catalan: potencial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 勢能／势能 (zh) (qiánnéng)

• Finnish: potentiaali (fi)
• Hungarian: potenciál (hu)
• Irish: poitéinseal m
• Japanese: 位置エネルギー (ja) (ichi enerugī)
• Portuguese: potencial (pt) m
• Tagalog: kaigtingan
• Turkish: gizil güç (tr), potansiyel (tr)

energy of a unit electrical charge

• Bulgarian: потенциал (bg) m (potencial)
• Catalan: potencial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 電勢／电势 (zh) (diànshì), 電位／电位 (zh) (diànwèi)

• Czech: potenciál m
• Finnish: potentiaali (fi)
• German: Potential (de) n
• Hungarian: potenciál (hu)
• Irish: poitéinseal m
• Japanese: 電位 (ja) (でんい, den'i), ポテンシャル (ja) (potensharu)
• Polish: potencjał (pl) m
• Portuguese: potencial (pt) m
• Romanian: potențial (ro) n
• Russian: потенциа́л (ru) m (potɛnciál)
• Swedish: potential (sv) c
• Turkish: gizil güç (tr), potansiyel (tr)
• Ukrainian: потенціа́л m (potenciál)

grammar: verbal construction

• Finnish: potentiaali (fi)
• Irish: cumas (ga) m

Adjective

potential (not comparable)

1. Existing in possibility, not in actuality.

   Synonyms: noumenal, spiritual, virtual

   Antonyms: actual, phenomenal, real

   • 1858, Thomas Carlyle, Chartism, Chapman & Hall, page 229:

     The heroic man,—and is not every man, God be thanked, a potential hero?—has to do so, in all times and circumstances.

2. (archaic) Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result

   Synonyms: efficacious, influential

   • 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello:

     And hath, in his effect, a voice potential

3. (physics) A potential field is an irrotational (static) field.
   • 1997, Physics-Uspekhi, volume 40, numbers 1-6, American Institute of Physics, page 39:

     From Maxwell equations (6.20) it follows that the electric field is potential: E(r) = −gradφ(r).

4. (physics) A potential flow is an irrotational flow.
   • 2009, Grigory E. Volovik, The Universe in a Helium Droplet‎^[2], Oxford University Press, page 60:

     The non-viscous flow of the vacuum should be potential (irrotational).

5. (grammar) Referring to a verbal construction of form stating something is possible or probable.

Derived terms

• electrochemical potential
• equipotential
• immunopotential
• nonpotential
• potential difference
• potential energy
• potentialize
• potential mood
• potentialness
• potential temperature
• potential well

 

Translations

existing in possibility

• Asturian: potencial
• Bulgarian: възможен (bg) (vǎzmožen), потенциален (bg) (potencialen)
• Catalan: potencial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 潛在／潜在 (zh) (qiánzài)

• Czech: potenciální (cs) m, potencionální (cs) m
• Danish: potentiel
• Dutch: potentieel (nl)
• Finnish: mahdollinen (fi), potentiaalinen (fi)
• French: potentiel (fr)
• German: möglich (de), potenziell (de), potentiell (de)
• Hebrew: פוטנציאלי (potentziáli)
• Hungarian: potenciális (hu)
• Icelandic: mögulegur (is)
• Irish: ionchasach, poitéinsiúil, féideartha
• Italian: potenziale (it)
• Japanese: 潜在的 (せんざいてき, senzaiteki)
• Lao: ບົ່ມຊ້ອນ (bom sǭn)
• Latvian: potenciāls
• Lithuanian: galimas (lt) m
• Maori: torohū
• Polish: potencjalny (pl) m
• Portuguese: potencial (pt)
• Russian: потенциа́льный (ru) (potɛnciálʹnyj), возмо́жный (ru) (vozmóžnyj)
• Spanish: potencial (es), posible (es)
• Swedish: potentiell (sv)
• Tagalog: binitin
• Turkish: gizil (tr), potansiyel (tr)
• Ukrainian: потенці́йний (potencíjnyj), можли́вий (možlývyj)

Further reading

• “potential”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “potential”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• Potential on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Potential (physics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Swedish

Noun

potential c

1. potential (currently unrealized ability)
2. (physics) potential

Declension

Declension of potential
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	potential	potentialen	potentialer	potentialerna
Genitive	potentials	potentialens	potentialers	potentialernas

Related terms

• potens
• potentialvandring
• potentiell

References

• potential in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• potential in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• potential in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)