Etymologically
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puissant

Etymology and origin of the French word puissant

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland
Ultimate origin
Latin (possum)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pɥi.sɑ̃/[1]

Forms

puissant (feminine puissante, masculine plural puissants, feminine plural puissantes)[1] Old French puisant, poissant (12th and 13th centuries).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is an old present participle of pouvoir, formed on the stems of the verb in pois-, puis- (compare the subjunctive “qu’il puisse”), first poissant and then remade after the forms in puis-; the modern participle is pouvant.[2][3][5][6][1] The verb goes back to Latin posse (“to be able”).[2][4] It ousted the older type podent (about 980), derived from the old infinitive podeir.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) uses it for a person with great power: li amirals est riches et puisant “the emir is rich and mighty”.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Wace (1155) has poissant for “vigorous, strong”, sometimes with the shade “stout, fat” (1587), which the Trévoux dictionary (1771) thought a middle-class usage.[2][3] About 1220 it was said of an effective thing, in 1546 of an imposing fleet or army, and in 1540 of a person of great wealth, showing the link between power and riches also seen in riche.[2][3]

As a noun it is old (late 12th century, Deu lo tot possant “God the almighty”); les puissants du siècle “the powerful of this world” is in Lefèvre d'Étaples's Bible (1530).[2][3] It was said of a powerful machine or engine only recently (1975).[3] La Fontaine's line selon que vous serez puissant ou misérable is often quoted.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Puisant “mighty”, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • 1155 – Poissant “strong”, in Wace.[2]
  • late 12th century – As a noun: Deu lo tot possant.[2]
  • c. 1220 – “Effective”, of a thing.[2]
  • 1530 – Les puissans du siècle.[2]
  • 1546 – Of a fleet or army.[3]
  • 1975 – Of a machine.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Powerful, mighty, having great power or influence: un personnage puissant, un pays puissant.[6][1]
  2. Physically strong, vigorous: une musculature puissante.[3][2]
  3. Producing a great effect; strong, potent: un remède puissant, un moteur puissant.[2][3]

Noun

  1. Les puissants: the powerful, those who hold power or wealth: les puissants de ce monde.[6][3]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Puissant.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/puissant. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·