Word of the Day

: June 13, 2008

impuissant

adjective im-PWISS-unt

What It Means

: weak, powerless

impuissant in Context

Jonah was a relentless bully who sought to intimidate any impuissant student that he could find in the schoolyard.

Did You Know?

Both the adjective "impuissant" and the noun "impuissance" came to English from Middle French. They are derived from the prefix "in-" (meaning "not") and the noun "puissance," which means "power" and is a word in English in its own right. "Puissance" derives from the verb "poer," meaning "to be able" or "to be powerful," and is ultimately related to the same Latin roots that gave us words such as "power" and "potent." While both "puissant" and "impuissance" first appeared in English during the 15th century, "impuissant" did not make its first appearance in our language until 1629.