What does "potent" mean?
Potent: Having great authority, control, or dominion; puissant; mighty; influential; as, a potent prince. "A potent dukedom." Shak. Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors. Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.Powerful, in an intellectual or moral sense; having great influence; as, potent interest; a potent argument. Cross potent. (Her.) See Illust. (7) of Cross.
- 3.A prince; a potentate. [Obs.] Shak.
- 4.Etym: [See Potence.] A staff or crutch. [Obs.]
- 5.(Her.) One of the furs; a surface composed of patches which are supposed to represent crutch heads; they are always alternately argent and azure, unless otherwise specially mentioned. Counter potent (Her.), a fur differing from potent in the arrangement of the patches.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00