See Also: Potency(medicine)
potency(dictionary)
potency(dictionary)
sexual potency(medicine)

potency (iou)



potency noun. LME.
[Latin potentia: see POTENCE noun1, -ENCY.]
(Great) power, authority, or influence. LME.
V. Packard The potency of television in conditioning youngsters to be loyal enthusiasts of a product. B. Bettelheim The child's steps towards independence are experienced as a threat to the parent's potency.
b. Power to cause a physical effect; spec. power to intoxicate. M17.
Highlife Intoxicated by the sun..and the potency of rum punches.
c. Homoeopathy. The degree of dilution of a drug, taken as a measure of its efficacy. M19.
d. Ability to achieve erection of the penis; (esp. of a male) ability to have sexual intercourse or to reach orgasm or (popularly) to procreate. E20.
e. Genetics. The extent of the contribution of an allele towards the production of a phenotypic character. E20.
f. Pharmacology. The strength of a drug, as measured by the amount needed to produce a certain response. M20.
transf. A person or thing wielding or possessing power or influence. Now rare. E17.
a. Potentiality, inherent capability or possibility. M17.
b. Embryology. A capacity in embryonic tissue for developing into a particular specialized tissue or organ. E20.
Degree of power. L17.
Math. = POWER noun 12b. E20.