# potestas
## Latin
### Etymology

From Proto-Italic *potistāts. Equivalent to potis + -tās.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /poˈtes.taːs/, [pɔˈt̪ɛs̠t̪äːs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /poˈtes.tas/, [poˈt̪ɛst̪äs]

### Noun

potestās f (genitive potestātis); third declension
* power, ability
* mastery, control
* authority, jurisdiction
* dominion, political power
    Synonyms: dicio, imperium, arbitrium, auctōritās
* right, legal power
* (of a word) meaning
* possibility, opportunity

#### Declension

Third-declension noun.

#### Derived terms

* potestātīvus
* TRP

#### Descendants

* Italian: potestà
** ⇒ Italian: podestà
*** → English: podesta
* Old French: poesté, podestet, pousté (La Vie de Saint Alexis, 11th century manuscripts, Anglo-Norman, respectively)
** → Middle English: pouste, pousty, powste, poweste, puste, poste, pooste, poostye, pauste
*** English: poustie
*** Scots: poustie
*** Yola: poustee
* → Albanian: pushtet
* → Catalan: postestat
* → Portuguese: potestade, podestade
* Sicilian: putistà, putistati
* → Spanish: potestad
* ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *potestāre
** Italian: podestare
** Old French: poëster
** → Albanian: pushtoj, poshtroj, pështroj — dialectal

### References

* “potestas”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “potestas”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* "potestas", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* potestas in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. power over life and death: potestas vitae necisque to be in a person's power: in manu, in potestate alicuius situm, positum esse to give a man the opportunity of doing a thing: potestatem, copiam alicui dare, facere with Gen. gerund. to deprive a man of the chance of doing a thing: facultatem, potestatem alicui eripere, adimere to give audience to some one: sui potestatem facere, praebere alicui despotic, tyrannous rule: potestas immoderata, infinita to give up, lay down office (usually at the end of one's term of office): de potestate decedere he has power over life and death: potestatem habet in aliquem vitae necisque (B. G. 1. 16. 5) to give up one's person and all one's possessions to the conqueror: se suaque omnia permittere victoris potestati to surrender oneself to the discretion of some one: se permittere in fidem atque in potestatem alicuius (B. G. 2. 3) to offer battle to the enemy: potestatem, copiam pugnandi hostibus facere to accept battle: potestatem sui facere (alicui) (cf. sect. XII. 9, note audientia...) to reduce a country to subjection to oneself: populum in potestatem suam redigere (B. G. 2. 34) to make oneself master of a people, country: populum, terram suo imperio, suae potestati subicere (not sibi by itself) to make one's submission to some one: in alicuius potestatem se permittere to be subject to some one, under some one's dominion: in potestate, in dicione alicuius esse
* “potestas”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
* potestas in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
* “potestas”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin