Power \Pow"er\, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F.
pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to
be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf.
Posse comitatus.]
1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the
faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for
action or performance; capability of producing an effect,
whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of
great power; the power of capillary attraction; money
gives power. "One next himself in power, and next in
crime." --Milton.
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2. Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength,
force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in
moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in
producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. "The power
of fancy." --Shak.
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3. Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted
upon; susceptibility; -- called also passive power; as,
great power of endurance.
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Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is
active power or capacity; capacity is passive power.
--Sir W.
Hamilton.
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4. The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the
exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion;
sway; command; government.
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Power is no blessing in itself but when it is
employed to protect the innocent. --Swift.
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5. The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual
invested with authority; an institution, or government,
which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe;
hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity.
"The powers of darkness." --Milton.
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And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
--Matt. xxiv.
29.
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6. A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host.
--Spenser.
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Never such a power . . .
Was levied in the body of a land. --Shak.
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7. A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o? good
things. [Colloq.] --Richardson.
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8. (Mech.)
(a) The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or
mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other
machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an
engine of twenty horse power.
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Note: The English unit of power used most commonly is the
horse power. See Horse power.
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(b) A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical
energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand
power, etc.
(c) Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as,
the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a
weight at the other end.
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Note: This use in mechanics, of power as a synonym for force,
is improper and is becoming obsolete.
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(d) A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a
motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.
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Note: Power is used adjectively, denoting, driven, or adapted
to be driven, by machinery, and not actuated directly
by the hand or foot; as, a power lathe; a power loom; a
power press.
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9. (Math.) The product arising from the multiplication of a
number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and
a cube is third power, of a number.
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10. (Metaph.) Mental or moral ability to act; one of the
faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as,
the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing,
fearing, hoping, etc. --I. Watts.
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The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of
my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a
received belief. --Shak.
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11. (Optics) The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any
optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and
usually in the microscope, the number of times it
multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an
object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it
multiplies the apparent surface.
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12. (Law) An authority enabling a person to dispose of an
interest vested either in himself or in another person;
ownership by appointment. --Wharton.
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13. Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the
business was referred to a committee with power.
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Note: Power may be predicated of inanimate agents, like the
winds and waves, electricity and magnetism,
gravitation, etc., or of animal and intelligent beings;
and when predicated of these beings, it may indicate
physical, mental, or moral ability or capacity.
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Mechanical powers. See under Mechanical.
Power loom, or Power press. See Def. 8
(d), note.
Power of attorney. See under Attorney.
Power of a point (relative to a given curve) (Geom.), the
result of substituting the coordinates of any point in
that expression which being put equal to zero forms the
equation of the curve; as, x^2 + y^2 - 100 is the
power of the point x, y, relative to the circle x^2 +
y^2 - 100 = 0.
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