possible

/ˈpɒs.ɪ.bəl/·adjective·c. 1340·Established

Origin

'Possible' traces to Latin 'posse' (to be able) — from 'potis esse' (to be powerful). Possibility is power.

Definition

Able to be done or achieved; that may exist, happen, or be true without contradicting proven facts, laws, or circumstances.

The Full Story

Latin14th centurywell-attested

From Latin 'possibilis' (that can be done, achievable), from 'posse' (to be able), a contraction of 'potis esse' (to be powerful, to be capable), from 'potis' (powerful, able, master), from PIE *pótis (powerful, lord, master). The PIE root *pótis is one of the most fascinating in the family: it links power, mastery, and possibility in a single semantic field. In Sanskrit, 'páti' means 'lord

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The English legal term 'posse' (as in 'posse comitatus,' the power of the county) comes directly from Latin 'posse' (to be able). A Wild West posse is, etymologically, an exercise of communal power — the same root that gives us 'possible' and 'potent.'

Possible Wiki Article· 3 min read

power), 'impotent' (powerless), 'omnipotent' (all-powerful), 'possible' and 'impossible.' The shift from 'power over others' to the abstract concept of 'capability' represents one of the great semantic abstractions in the history of language. The word entered English via Old French 'possible' in the 14th century, during the period when French legal and philosophical vocabulary was flooding into English. Key roots: posse (Latin: "to be able (contraction of potis esse)"), *pótis (Proto-Indo-European: "powerful, lord, master").

This Word in Other Languages

páti(Sanskrit (lord, master))pósis(Greek (husband))pats(Lithuanian (husband, self))potis(Latin (able, powerful))puissant(French (powerful))

“that can be done”

Latinarchaic Latin

posse“to be able, to have power”

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4000 BCE

*pótis“powerful, lord, master”

possible

Origin

Definition

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Ancient Roots

This Word in Other Languages

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