potential

potential

See also: Potential

English

Etymology

From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”); synchronically analysable as potent +‎ -ial.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /pəˈtɛnʃəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /po(ʊ)ˈtɛnʃəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: po‧ten‧tial

Noun

potential (countable and uncountable, plural potentials)

1. 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.

   • 1990, The Hunt for Red October, OCLC 1003894682:

     Comrades, our own fleet doesn't know our full potential. They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment.

2. (physics) The gravitational potential: the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.
3. (physics) 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.
4. (grammar) A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.

Synonyms

• noumenon
• spirit

Antonyms

• matter
• phenomenon

Derived terms

• action potential
• afterpotential
• decomposition potential
• demarcation potential
• eigenpotential
• electric potential
• electrode potential
• electropotential
• event-related potential
• evoked potential
• human potential movement
• hydropotential
• injury potential
• Lennard-Jones potential
• LJ potential
• membrane potential
• multipotential
• myopotential
• normal potential
• potential theory
• potential vorticity
• redox potential
• resting potential
• subpotential
• threshold potential
• tripotential
• vectorpotential
• velocity potential
• water potential
• zeta potential

 

Related terms

• potence
• potency
• potent
• potentate
• potentiality

Translations

currently unrealized ability

Bulgarian: потенциал (bg) n (potencial) Catalan: potencial (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 潛力／潜力 (zh), 潜力 (zh) (qiánlì), 潛質／潜质, 潜质 (qiánzhì) Esperanto: potencialo n Finnish: potentiaali (fi) French: possibilités (fr) f pl, potentiel (fr) m Galician: potencial German: Potential (de) n Greek: δυναμικό (el) n (dynamikó) Ancient: δυναμικόν n (dunamikón) Hungarian: potenciál (hu) Irish: cumas (ga) m, acmhainneacht f Italian: potenziale (it) Japanese: 可能性 (ja) (かのうせい, kanōsei), ポテンシャル (ja) (potensharu), 潜在力 (せんざいりょく, senzairyoku), 潜在能力 (せんざいのうりょく, senzai nōryoku) Korean: 가능성(可能性) (ko) (ganeungseong), 잠재력(潛在力) (ko) (jamjaeryeok) Kyrgyz: дарамет (ky) (daramet), кудурет (ky) (kuduret), магдыр (magdır) Lao: ສັກກະຍະພາບ (sak ka nya phāp), ທ່າແຮງ (thā hǣng) Malay: potensi Maori: pito mata, torohū Polish: potencjał (pl) m Portuguese: potencial (pt) m Romanian: potențial (ro) n Russian: потенциа́л (ru) m (potɛnciál) Spanish: potencial (es) m Swedish: potential (sv) c Thai: ศักยภาพ (th) (sàk-gà-yá-pâap) Turkish: gizil (tr), gizli (tr), potansiyel (tr) Ukrainian: потенціа́л m (potenciál) Vietnamese: tiềm năng (vi)

physics: the radial component of a gravitational field

Catalan: potencial (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 勢能／势能 (zh) (qiánnéng) Finnish: potentiaali (fi) Hungarian: potenciál (hu) Irish: poitéinseal m Japanese: 位置エネルギー (ja) (ichi enerugī) Portuguese: potencial (pt) m Tagalog: kaigtingan Turkish: gizil güç (tr), potansiyel (tr)

energy of a unit electrical charge

Bulgarian: потенциал (bg) m (potencial) Catalan: potencial (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 電勢／电势 (zh) (diànshì), 電位／电位 (zh) (diànwèi) Czech: potenciál m Finnish: potentiaali (fi) German: Potential (de) n Hungarian: potenciál (hu) Irish: poitéinseal m Japanese: 電位 (ja) (でんい, den'i), ポテンシャル (ja) (potensharu) Polish: potencjał (pl) m Portuguese: potencial (pt) m Romanian: potențial (ro) n Russian: потенциа́л (ru) m (potɛnciál) Swedish: potential (sv) c Turkish: gizil güç (tr), potansiyel (tr) Ukrainian: потенціа́л m (potenciál)

grammar: verbal construction

Finnish: potentiaali (fi) Irish: cumas (ga) m

Adjective

potential (not comparable)

1. Existing in possibility, not in actuality.

   Synonyms: noumenal, spiritual, virtual

   Antonyms: actual, phenomenal, real

   • 1858, Thomas Carlyle, Chartism, Chapman & Hall, page 229:

     The heroic man,—and is not every man, God be thanked, a potential hero?—has to do so, in all times and circumstances.

2. (archaic) Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result

   Synonyms: efficacious, influential

   • 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello:

     And hath, in his effect, a voice potential

3. (physics) A potential field is an irrotational (static) field.
   • 1997, Physics-Uspekhi, volume 40, number 1-6, American Institute of Physics, page 39:

     From Maxwell equations (6.20) it follows that the electric field is potential: E(r) = −gradφ(r).

4. (physics) A potential flow is an irrotational flow.
   • 2009, Grigory E. Volovik, The Universe in a Helium Droplet‎, Oxford University Press, page 60:

     The non-viscous flow of the vacuum should be potential (irrotational).

5. (grammar) Referring to a verbal construction of form stating something is possible or probable.

Derived terms

• electrochemical potential
• equipotential
• immunopotential
• nonpotential
• potential difference
• potential energy
• potentialize
• potential mood
• potentialness
• potential temperature
• potential well

 

Translations

existing in possibility

Asturian: potencial Bulgarian: възможен (bg) (vǎzmožen), потенциален (bg) (potencialen) Catalan: potencial (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 潛在／潜在 (zh) (qiánzài) Czech: potenciální (cs) m, potencionální (cs) m Danish: potentiel Dutch: potentieel (nl) Finnish: mahdollinen (fi), potentiaalinen (fi) French: potentiel (fr) German: möglich (de), potenziell (de), potentiell (de) Hebrew: פוטנציאלי‎ (potentziáli) Hungarian: potenciális (hu) Icelandic: mögulegur (is) Irish: ionchasach, poitéinsiúil, féideartha Italian: potenziale (it) Japanese: 潜在的 (せんざいてき, senzaiteki) Lao: ບົ່ມຊ້ອນ (bom sǭn) Latvian: potenciāls Lithuanian: galimas (lt) m Maori: torohū Polish: potencjalny (pl) m Portuguese: potencial (pt) Russian: потенциа́льный (ru) (potɛnciálʹnyj), возмо́жный (ru) (vozmóžnyj) Spanish: potencial (es) Swedish: potentiell (sv) Tagalog: binitin Turkish: gizil (tr), potansiyel (tr) Ukrainian: потенці́йний (potencíjnyj), можли́вий (možlývyj)

Further reading

• potential in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• potential in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• Potential on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Potential (physics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Swedish

Noun

potential c

1. potential

Declension

Declension of potential
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	potential	potentialen	potentialer	potentialerna
Genitive	potentials	potentialens	potentialers	potentialernas

Related terms

• potens
• potentialvandring
• potentiell