potence
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French potence (“power, a crutch”), from Latin potentia (“power, in Medieval Latin also crutch”), from potens (“powerful”); see potent.
Noun
potence (countable and uncountable, plural potences)
- power or strength; potency
- A stud that acts as a support of a pivot in a watch or clock
- (heraldry) Synonym of crutch
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “potence”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “potence”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Czech
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
potence f
Related terms
Related terms
Further reading
French
Etymology
From Old French, borrowed from Latin potentia.
Pronunciation
Noun
potence f (plural potences)
- (construction) post and braces
- gallows, gibbet (for hanging)
- stem (component on a bicycle)
Usage notes
Beware that this is a false friend, meaning “gallows” (or similar wooden constructions), not “strength”, from the Middle Latin meaning “crutch” of potentia.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Further reading
- “potence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Heraldry
- Czech terms derived from Latin
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Czech/ɛntsɛ
- Rhymes:Czech/ɛntsɛ/3 syllables
- Czech lemmas
- Czech nouns
- Czech feminine nouns
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms borrowed from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French feminine nouns
- fr:Construction
- fr:Bicycle parts