potential.
A currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to).
Meaning & usage
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.
A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pótis Proto-Italic *potis Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Italic *-ējō Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ēō Proto-Italic *potēō Proto-Italic *potēnts Latin potēns Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin potentia Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Late Latin potentialisder. English potential From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”). By surface analysis, potent + -ial.
Existing in possibility, not in actuality.
Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result
irrotational
irrotational (see potential flow on Wikipedia)
Referring to a verbal construction of form stating something is possible or probable.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pótis Proto-Italic *potis Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Italic *-ējō Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ēō Proto-Italic *potēō Proto-Italic *potēnts Latin potēns Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin potentia Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Late Latin potentialisder. English potential From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”). By surface analysis, potent + -ial.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.