impotence
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle French impotence, from Latin impotentia.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɪmpətəns/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun
impotence (usually uncountable, plural impotences)
- Powerlessness; incapacity.
- Near-synonyms: weakness, helplessness
- 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 12, line 52:
- O impotence of mind, in body ſtrong!
- Inability to copulate or beget children; sterility, erectile dysfunction, etc.
- Hyponyms: impotentia coeundi, impotentia generandi
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
powerlessness
|
erectile dysfunction
|
Czech
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin impotentia.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɪmpotɛnt͡sɛ]
- Rhymes: -ɛntsɛ
Noun
impotence f
- impotence (inability to copulate or beget children)
Declension
Declension of impotence (soft feminine)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | impotence | impotence |
| genitive | impotence | impotencí |
| dative | impotenci | impotencím |
| accusative | impotenci | impotence |
| vocative | impotence | impotence |
| locative | impotenci | impotencích |
| instrumental | impotencí | impotencemi |
Related terms
- See potence
Further reading
- “impotence”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “impotence”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
- “impotence”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025
French
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
impotence f (plural impotences)
Further reading
- “impotence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.