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A.Word.A.Day--puissant

Pronunciation Sound Clip RealAudio

This week's theme: Words derived from Indo-European roots

puissant (PWIS-uhnt, PYOO-uh-suhnt) adjective

Potent.

[Via French from Latin posse (to be able), ultimately from the Indo-European root poti- (powerful, lord) that is also the source of power, potent, possess, possible, posse, Italian podesta, and Turkish pasha (via Persian).]

See more usage examples of puissant in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

"The full-race Evo is about 557 pounds lighter and 30 horsepower more puissant."
Dan Neil; A Beast in the 'burbs; Los Angeles Times; Jun 16, 2004.

X-Bonus

Victory breeds enmity; the defeated live in pain. The peaceful live happily, avoiding both victory and defeat. -Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE)

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