Wordwyrt

impotent

/ˈɪmpətənt/IM-puh-tuhnt
/ˈɪmpətənt/IM-puh-tuhnt

Meaningpowerless

Common meaning: unable to act effectively or achieve an erection

Journey through time

  1. Latinimpotentem‘powerless’source
  2. Middle Englishmeaning shiftspowerless → weakimpotent‘weak’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftsweak → unable to act effectively or achieve an erectionimpotent‘unable to act effectively or achieve an erection’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin impotentem ‘powerless’.

Roots

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