Part 441

A place of potency and away o' the state.

Shak.

Po"tent (?), a. [L. potens, - entis, p. pr. of posse to be able, to have power, fr. potis able, capable (akin to Skr. pati master, lord) + esse to be. See Host a landlord, Am, and cf. Despot, Podesta, Possible, Power, Puissant.] 1. Producing great physical effects; forcible; powerful' efficacious; as, a potent medicine. "Harsh and potent injuries." Shak.

Moses once more his potent rod extends.

Milton.

2. Having great authority, control, or dominion; puissant; mighty; influential; as, a potent prince. "A potent dukedom." Shak.

Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors.

Shak.

3. Powerful, in an intellectual or moral sense; having great influence; as, potent interest; a potent argument.

Cross potent. (Her.) See Illust. (7) of Cross.

Syn. -- Powerful; mighty; puissant; strong; able; efficient; forcible; efficacious; cogent; influential.

Po"tent, n. 1. A prince; a potentate. [Obs.] Shak.

2. [See Potence.] A staff or crutch. [Obs.]

3. (Her.) One of the furs; a surface composed of patches which are supposed to represent crutch heads; they are always alternately argent and azure, unless otherwise specially mentioned.

Counter potent (Her.), a fur differing from potent in the arrangement of the patches.

Po"ten*ta*cy (?), n. [See Potentate.] Sovereignty. [Obs.]

Po"ten*tate (?), n. [LL. potentatus, fr. potentare to exercise power: cf. F. potentat. See Potent, a.] One who is potent; one who possesses great power or sway; a prince, sovereign, or monarch.

The blessed and only potentate.

1 Tim. vi. 15.

Cherub and seraph, potentates and thrones.

Milton.

Po*ten"tial (?), a. [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.] 1. Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential. [Obs.] "And hath in his effect a voice potential." Shak.

2. Existing in possibility, not in actuality. "A potential hero." Carlyle.

Potential existence means merely that the thing may be at ome time; actual existence, that it now is.

Sir W. Hamilton.

Potential cautery. See under Cautery. -- Potential energy. (Mech.) See the Note under Energy. -- Potential mood, or mode (Gram.), that form of the verb which is used to express possibility, liberty, power, will, obligation, or necessity, by the use of may, can, must, might, could, would, or should; as, I may go; he can write.

Po*ten"tial, n. 1. Anything that may be possible; a possibility; potentially. Bacon.

2. (Math.) In the theory of gravitation, or of other forces acting in space, a function of the rectangular coordinates which determine the position of a point, such that its differential coefficients with respect to the coˆrdinates are equal to the components of the force at the point considered; -- also called potential function, or force function. It is called also Newtonian potential when the force is directed to a fixed center and is inversely as the square of the distance from the center.