Added 9 October 2026
potential
/pəˈtɛnʃəl/ noun
Latin root: potentialis Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about potential at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
A currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to).
Even from a young age it was clear that she had the potential to become a great musician.
- The gravitational potential: the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.
- The work (energy) required to move a reference particle from a reference location to a specified location in the presence of a force field, for example to bring a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a specified point against an electric field.
adjective
Origin
From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”). By surface analysis, potent + -ial.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)