Hello At and all LOers
At 11:21 16-04-1999 +0200, At wrote:
>To my surprise the etymology of the word power is through the French word
>"poer" coming from the Latin word "posse".
I am afraid this is more complex. The Latin word "posse" means Ownership
(Portuguese "posse" - so it was easy for me; Spanish "posesio", as in the
English "possession" and also in "possessive").
I never found the French word "poer"; maybe it is Old French. The French
word for power is "pouvoir". My French dictionary says that it comes from
the Latin "posse" with no further explanation. But the Portuguese word
for power is "poder" (as in Spanish). My Portuguese dictionary says that
"poder" comes from the "popular Latin" "potere", coming from the "classic
Latin" "posse".
In fact in the Latin dictionary of my daughter I found the different forms
of the word: "posum, potes, posse, potui". So it is from two different
forms of the Latin word that comes the Portuguese "posse" (Ownership), and
the English "possession" and "possessive", but also the French pouvoir,
the English power, the Portuguese "poder" (all from the Latin "potere").
My conclusion: to the ancients, ownership, possession, means "to have the
power". Would you agree?
But also coming from "potere" one can find "potential" - having the
capacity, the power, to become something else, an "actualisation", as you
say:
This word means, "to be able"!
>In other words, the word "powerivity" would mean "the ability to be able".
>Is the meaning of this phrase a mere tautology? I do not think so if I
>compare it to the synonymous phrase "the capacity to be able". There
>appears to be a deeper meaning in "the ability to be able". The meaning
>which I my own experiences give rise to is something in the nature of "any
>potential which can become actual on the moment of demand". It consists of
>two facets, namely "potential" and "actualisation".
In conclusion: if you have the possession you have the power.
Interesting, isn't it?
Best regards
Artur
--Artur F Silva <artsilva@individual.eunet.pt>
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