potestas
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of potestas
First recorded in 1650–60, potestas is from the Latin word potestās literally, power, control, authority
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some enslaved people were sold into bondage through patria potestas.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
The patria potestas, the authority of the father, was absolute.
From Salon • Oct. 23, 2022
On the headboard of one of the beds, some past student had inscribed, with a Sharpie and a careful hand: ipsa scientia potestas est.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Vera regni potestas in hominem numero consistit; ubi enim sunt homines, ibi substantiæ et vires.
From Principles of Political Economy, Vol. II by Roscher, Wilhelm
But the old patria potestas had become completely obsolete, and the practical effect of the general adoption of this form of marriage was the absolute legal independence of the wife.
From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of 2) by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
