different between power vs effect

English

Alternative forms

• powre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English poer, from Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin *pot?re, from Latin possum, posse (“to be able”); see potent. Compare Modern French pouvoir. Displaced native Old English anweald.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?pa??(?)/, /?pa?.?(?)/
  • (with triphthong smoothing) IPA^(key): /pa?/, /pa?/, /p??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?pa?.?/, /?pa??/, [?p?a???], [?p?a???]
• Rhymes: -a?.?(?), -a??(?)
• Hyphenation: pow?er

Noun

power (countable and uncountable, plural powers)

1. Ability to do or undergo something.
   • 2018, Marilyn McCord Adams, Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God (page 74)

     If it is spirits who have power to suffer, it seems they would also have active powers to think and will.

2. (social) Ability to coerce, influence or control.
   1. (countable) Ability to affect or influence.

      • An incident which happened about this time will set the characters of these two lads more fairly before the discerning reader than is in the power of the longest dissertation.

      • Thwackum, on the contrary, maintained that the human mind, since the fall, was nothing but a sink of iniquity, till purified and redeemed by grace. […] The favourite phrase of the former, was the natural beauty of virtue; that of the latter, was the divine power of grace.

      • 1998, Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

        Past and future obviously have no reality of their own. Just as the moon has no light of its own, but can only reflect the light of the sun, so are past and future only pale reflections of the light, power, and reality of the eternal present.

   2. Control or coercion, particularly legal or political (jurisdiction).
      • 1949, Eric Blair, aka George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

        The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. [...] We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.

      • 2005, Columbia Law Review, April

        In the face of expanding federal power, California in particular struggled to maintain control over its Chinese population.
   3. (metonymically, chiefly in the plural) The people in charge of legal or political power, the government.

      Synonym: powers that be

   4. (metonymically) An influential nation, company, or other such body.
3. (physical, uncountable) Effectiveness.
   1. Physical force or strength.

   2. Electricity or a supply of electricity.
   3. A measure of the rate of doing work or transferring energy.
   4. The strength by which a lens or mirror magnifies an optical image.

4. (colloquial, dated) A large amount or number.

   • The threatning words of duke Robert comming at the last to king Henries eares, caused him foorthwith to conceiue verie sore displeasure against a power of men sent into Normandie.
5. Any of the elementary forms or parts of machines: three primary (the lever, inclined plane, and pulley) and three secondary (the wheel-and-axle, wedge, and screw).

   the mechanical powers

6. (physics, mechanics) A measure of the effectiveness that a force producing a physical effect has over time. If linear, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the displacement of or in an object) ÷ time. If rotational, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the angle of displacement) ÷ time.
7. (mathematics)
   1. A product of equal factors (and generalizations of this notion): ${\displaystyle x^{n}}$, read as "${\displaystyle x}$ to the power of ${\displaystyle n}$" or the like, is called a power and denotes the product ${\displaystyle x\times x\times \cdots \times x}$, where ${\displaystyle x}$ appears ${\displaystyle n}$ times in the product; ${\displaystyle x}$ is called the base and ${\displaystyle n}$ the exponent.
   2. (set theory) Cardinality.
   3. (statistics) The probability that a statistical test will reject the null hypothesis when the alternative hypothesis is true.
8. (biblical, in the plural) In Christian angelology, an intermediate level of angels, ranked above archangels, but exact position varies by classification scheme.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often used with "power": electric, nuclear, optical, mechanical, political, absolute, corporate, institutional, military, economic, solar, magic, magical, huge, physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, sexual, seductive, coercive, erotic, natural, cultural, positive, negative, etc.

Synonyms

Antonyms

• impotence
• weakness

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• ? German: Power
• ? Welsh: p?er

Translations

Verb

power (third-person singular simple present powers, present participle powering, simple past and past participle powered)

1. (transitive) To provide power for (a mechanical or electronic device).

   This CD player is powered by batteries.

2. (transitive) To hit or kick something forcefully.
3. To enable or provide the impetus for.

Derived terms

• power down
• power up
• empower

Translations

Adjective

power (comparative more power, superlative most power)

1. (Singapore, colloquial) Impressive.

Further reading

• power at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• powre

German

Etymology 1

From French pauvre, from Latin pauper.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?po?v?r/, [?po?v?]
• Hyphenation: po?wer

Adjective

power (comparative powerer, superlative am powersten)

1. (regional, informal) poor, miserable

Declension

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pa???r/, [?pa???]
• Homophone: Power

Verb

power

1. singular imperative of powern
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of powern

Further reading

• “power” in Duden online

English

Etymology

For noun: from Middle English effect, from Old French effect (modern French effet), from Latin effectus (“an effect, tendency, purpose”), from effici? (“accomplish, complete, effect”); see effect as a verb. Replaced Old English fremming, fremednes from fremman.

For verb: from Middle English effecten, partly from Latin effectus, perfect passive participle of effici? (“accomplish, complete, do, effect”), from ex (“out”) + faci? (“do, make”) (see fact and compare affect, infect) and partly from the noun effect.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??f?kt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??f?kt/
• (Malaysia, Singapore) IPA^(key): /i?f?kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt
• Hyphenation: ef?fect

Noun

effect (countable and uncountable, plural effects)

1. The result or outcome of a cause.

2. Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.
   • October 1832, unknown author, The Tears of Parents (in The Christian Observer Volume 32

     patchwork […] introduced for oratorical effect

   • 1832, Washington Irving, Tales of the Alhambra

     The effect was heightened by the wild and lonely nature of the place.

3. Execution; performance; realization; operation.
   1. (uncountable) The state of being binding and enforceable, as in a rule, policy, or law.

4. (cinematography) An illusion produced by technical means (as in "special effect")

5. (sound engineering) An alteration, or device for producing an alteration, in sound after it has been produced by an instrument.

6. (physics, psychology, etc.) A scientific phenomenon, usually named after its discoverer.

7. (usually in the plural) Belongings, usually as personal effects.
8. Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; with to.

   • They spake to her to that effect.

9. (obsolete) Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance.
   • 1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill

     no other in effect than what it seems

10. (obsolete) Manifestation; expression; sign.

Usage notes

Do not confuse with affect.

Adjectives often applied to "effect":

• biological, chemical, cultural, economic, legal, mental, moral, nutritional, personal, physical, physiological, political and social
• actual, bad, beneficial, catastrophic, deleterious, disastrous, devastating, fatal, good, harmful, important, intended, likely, natural, negative, positive, potential, primary, real, secondary, significant, special, strong, undesirable and weak

Hyponyms

Derived terms

• after-effect

Related terms

• in effect
• take effect
• personal effects

Translations

References

Verb

effect (third-person singular simple present effects, present participle effecting, simple past and past participle effected)

1. (transitive) To make or bring about; to implement.

2. Misspelling of affect.

Usage notes

Effect is often confused with affect. The latter suggests influence over existing ideas, emotions and entities; the former indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities:

• “New governing coalitions have effected major changes” indicates that major changes were made as a result of new governing coalitions.
• “New governing coalitions have affected major changes” indicates that before new governing coalitions, major changes were in place, and that the new governing coalitions had some influence over those existing changes.

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• effect in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• effect in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch effect, from Latin effectus. The sense ‘(equitable) security’ borrowed from German Effekt or French effet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??f?kt/
• Hyphenation: ef?fect
• Rhymes: -?kt

Noun

effect n (plural effecten, diminutive effectje n)

1. effect
2. (finance, usually in the plural) security

   Hypernym: waardepapier

3. (ball games) spin (rotation of a ball)
4. (obsolete) personal effect, belonging

Compounds

• broeikaseffect
• domino-effect
• effectbal
• effectenbeurs
• sneeuwbaleffect

Derived terms

• effectief

Descendants

• Afrikaans: effek
• ? Indonesian: efek

References

Middle French

Alternative forms

• effaict

Etymology

From Old French effect

Noun

effect m (plural effects)

1. effect

Descendants

• French: effet

Old French

Etymology

From Latin effectus

Noun

effect m (oblique plural effecz or effectz, nominative singular effecz or effectz, nominative plural effect)

1. effect
2. (law) judgment; decree
   • punir les contrevenantz solonc l’effect des estatut

     Punish the offender according to the decree of the statute

Descendants

• ? English: effect
• French: effet