omnipotence
Meaningthe state or quality of being all-powerful
Common meaning: the quality or state of being omnipotent
- omniall, every
- potto be able; powerfulLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1408 · scan
- encenoun ending: doing, or the condition that results
‘all, every’ + ‘to be able’ → omnipotence
Journey through time
- Latinpossum; potēns‘to be able’
- Frenchomnipotent
- Englishomnipotent‘all-powerful’
- Englishformed in English from omnipotentomnipotence‘the quality or state of being omnipotent’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: the state or quality of being all-powerful. It can be inferred from any of: omnipotent.
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: Formed in English from omnipotent + -ence (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- possum; potēns Latin “to be able; powerful”
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