The word "powers" is spelled with the phonetic transcription "ˈpaʊərz." It is pronounced as "pow-ers." The "p" sound at the beginning of the word is followed by an "ow" diphthong. The "e" is silent and serves to lengthen the "ow" sound. The final "s" sound indicates a plural form of the word. "Powers" refers to abilities or strengths that a person or thing possesses. It can also refer to individuals or groups that hold authority or control over others.
Powers can have multiple meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In the simplest sense, powers refer to the abilities or skills possessed by an individual or a group. These abilities can be physical, mental, or even supernatural. For instance, a superhero may possess extraordinary powers that include superhuman strength, the ability to fly, or control over elements like fire or water.
In a political sense, powers refer to the authority or influence held by a person, organization, or government to govern, execute decisions, or enforce laws. These powers can be divided into different branches or levels, such as executive powers granted to a president or prime minister, legislative powers held by a parliament or congress, and judicial powers exercised by a court or judiciary system. Powers in this sense are often delineated and limited by the constitution or legal framework of a country to prevent abuse or concentration of power.
In mathematics, powers refer to the product that results from repeatedly multiplying a number by itself. For example, the number 2 raised to the power of 3 (written as 2³) equals 2 x 2 x 2, resulting in the value 8. Similarly, powers can involve negative or fractional exponents, which represent inverse operations of multiplication and division respectively.
Overall, powers can refer to abilities, authorities, or mathematical operations, each with its own specific connotation and usage.
Those having resources, greater or less-applied to nations, as the great powers.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "powers" has a complex etymology. It ultimately derives from the Latin word "potentia", meaning "power" or "ability". In Latin, "potentia" originated from the verb "posse", which means "to be able" or "to have power". "Posse" is a combination of the prefix "potis", meaning "able" or "capable", and the verb "esse", meaning "to be".
The Latin root "potentia" was later borrowed into Old French as "poeir" or "pouoir", which retained similar meanings of "power" or "ability". These Old French forms eventually developed into the Middle English word "pouer" or "power", maintaining the same sense of strength, control, or authority.
Over time, the word "powers" expanded in usage to cover various aspects of authority and capability.