different between potentate vs possible
potentate
English
Etymology
From Middle English potentat, from Old French, from Late Latin potent?tus (“rule, political power”), from Latin pot?ns (“powerful, strong”), the active present participle of possum (“I am able”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?p??.t?n.te?t/
- (US) IPA(key): /?po?.t?n.te?t/
Noun
potentate (plural potentates)
- A powerful leader; a monarch; a ruler.
- 1592, Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, act iii, scene 2
- But Kings and mightie?t Potentates mu?t die,
For that's the end of humane mi?erie.
- But Kings and mightie?t Potentates mu?t die,
- 1900, Theodore Dreiser, "Sister Carrie"
- She was now one of a group of oriental beauties who, in the second act of the comic opera, were paraded by the vizier before the new potentate as the treasures of his harem.
- 1592, Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, act iii, scene 2
- A powerful polity or institution.
- (derogatory) A self-important person.
Usage notes
This term usually carries connotations or implications of ancient despotism before advanced Western conceptions of civil law and Enlightenment values; in other words, a potentate can be described as a king or realm that exercises "raw", absolute power by decree and entrenched in "exotic" customs and traditions (cf. Orientalism). For example, a "Hindu potentate" would refer to those petty kings who controlled various small dominions in India before the British Raj. Particularly in the second sense, use of "potentate" to refer to Western states even before the modern era is rare, and may even be intended humorously in such a case.
Related terms
Translations
Adjective
potentate (comparative more potentate, superlative most potentate)
- (obsolete) Regnant, powerful, dominant.
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possible
English
Etymology
From Middle English possible, from Old French possible, from Latin possibilis (“possible”), from posse (“to be able”); see power. Displaced Old English mihtl?? (“possible”), which was cognate with Dutch mogelijk (“possible”) and German möglich (“possible”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?p?s?bl?/
- (General American) IPA(key): /?p?s?bl?/
- Hyphenation: pos?si?ble
Adjective
possible (comparative possibler or more possible, superlative possiblest or most possible)
- (usually not comparable) Able but not certain to happen; neither inevitable nor impossible.
- Synonyms: futurable; see also Thesaurus:possible
- Antonyms: certain, inevitable, impossible
- (comparable) Capable of being done or achieved; feasible.
- Synonyms: achievable, doable, viable
- Antonym: impossible
- Being considered, e.g. for a position.
- Apparently valid, likely, plausible.
- Synonyms: likely, plausible
- Antonym: implausible
Derived terms
- as much as possible
- ASAP (“as soon as possible”)
- possibly
Related terms
- possibility
- potent
- potential
- probable
- improbable
- incidental
- contingent
Translations
Noun
possible (plural possibles)
- A possible one.
- (colloquial, rare) A possible choice, notably someone being considered for a position.
- Jones is a possible for the new opening in sales.
- (rare) A particular event that may happen.
Synonyms
- possibility
- option
Antonyms
- impossible
- no-go
Translations
Further reading
- possible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- possible in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- bespoils
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin possibilis.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /pu?si.bl?/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /po?si.ble/
Adjective
possible (masculine and feminine plural possibles)
- possible
- Antonym: impossible
Derived terms
- possibilitat
- possiblement
Related terms
- impossible
Further reading
- “possible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
French
Etymology
From Latin possibilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /p?.sibl/
Adjective
possible (plural possibles)
- possible
Related terms
- possibilité
- possiblement
Noun
possible m (plural possibles)
- The possible, feasible, what can be done, achieved etc.
Derived terms
Further reading
- “possible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
possible From the web:
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- what possible plot developments are foreshadowed
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