power 
Km not yet discovered, lint capable of discovery, which is 
the actuality. . . . For as a pel son building Is toa builder 
and the thing wjWug t the thing sleeping. and the sue! 
INK Co him who has his eyes shut though he has sight and 
that which is severed from matter to matter, and work 
done to material unworked, so Is act to power. 
Arutotle, Metaphysics, vlil. 6. 
13. Ill merit., that witli which work can be done 
(a) Energy, whether kinetic or potential (as of a head of 
water or a steam-engine), considered as a commodity to be 
bought and sold In definite quantities. Hence (since this 
to usually provided in the kinetic form)- (6) Kinetic en- 
If the power with which a system Is moving at any in- 
stant be denoted by T, its expression becomes T = j nr. 
B. Peiree, Anal. Mechanics, p. 307. 
() The mechanical advantage of a machine, (d) A sim- 
h uid"!abo" C ' ^ Mechanlcal ner 8y >"> distinguished from 
14. Iii arith. and real alg., the result of multi- 
plying a quantity into itself a specified number 
"IS 8 ' .K The &nt P^ wer of Quantity to the quantity 
itself; the n'f power, where n is any positive integer, is the 
continued product of the quantity taken n times - that is 
the quantity composed of n factors each equal to the quan- 
tity. A negative power, where n is a negative Integer is 
the reciprocal of the corresponding positive power -thus 
. 1, 
*" 
A fractional power is that root of the power of the quantity 
denoted by the numerator of the fraction which is denoted 
by the denominator : thus, *~ is the n"> root of x"> (See 
'" 1 "" lKi " ary a '8 ebra tn e definition of a power 
15. In gconi., the square of the distance of a 
point from the point of tangency to a given cir- 
cle of a line through that point. This quantity 
is said to be the power of the point with respect 
to the circle. 16. A spiritual being in general 
Spec-incally [pi.], in the celestial hierarchy, the sixth order 
of angels, ranking last In the second triad. The word 
translates the Efo.a (Potestatt,) of Eph. i. 21 and Col 
I. 18. See hierarchy. 
Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powert. 
The lord of spirits and the prince of poteen. 
2 Mac. lit. 24. 
17. A person in authority or exercising great 
influence in liis community. 
You have, by fortune and his highness' favours 
Gone slightly o'er low steps and now are mounted 
H here pmnen are your retainers. 
Shale., Hen. VIII., II. 4. 113. 
Are all teachers? Arc all powersf \ Cor. xil. 29. 
A power is passing from the earth. Wordxworth. 
18. A government ; a governing body. 
4G63 
in power. See Incmnmeng-trabU. In power. In control 
f the administrative and executive functions of a govern- 
ment : a phrase noting the position of ministers or politi- 
cal parties when a majority vote or some other influence 
has given them the ascendancy. 
In power a servant, out of power a friend 
Melcambc, quoted in Pope's Epll. to Satires, li. 161. 
He [ Htt I [had often declared that, while he was in power, 
England should never make a peace of I'trecht. 
Haeaulay, Frederic the Great. 
Irrational power, as defined by the advocates of the 
freedom of the will, a power which Is determined to one or 
another of two opposites, so that it either can act but can- 
not refrain, or can refrain but cannot act Judicial Jus- 
ticiary, legislative, locomotive power. Seethe d- 
jectives.-Coglcal power, logical possibility; the not in- 
volving any contradiction. Low power. See obicctwe, 
-Magnetic rotatory power. See mayneNc. 
Medicinal power, the power of healing. Ministerial 
powers. See ministerial.- Mixed power, a power of 
changing the subject of the power Itself ; a power at once 
active and passive : mixed act is used In an analogous 
sense.- Motive power. See .ow.-lfatural power, 
(a) Power to produce a natural motion. (6) Power within 
nature, not supernatural. Also called phyneal power.- 
Nutntlve power, power of assimilating nutriment 
Obedlentlal power, the power of a person, an animal or 
a thing todo that which Is beyond hlsor its natural powers 
in consequence of miraculous Interposition. Objective 
power. See objective. Occult power, an occult virtue 
or property of a natural thing, see occult. Passive 
power, see paaiee.- Perspective power, the faculty 
of snpersensuous cognition. Physical power Same as 
natural power.- Police power. See police.- Political 
power, power of governing; Influence in the govern- 
ment. Power of attorney. See attorney'*. Power 
of contradiction, the power In an individual of being 
determined to one or the other of two contradictory 
predicates The corresponding power in a genus to be 
determined to one or the other of two species is not 
called by this name. -Power of life and death, author- 
ity to Inflict or to remit capital punishment Power of 
Points. See point*. -Power Of sale.aclause inserted in 
securities for debt, conferring on the creditor a power to 
1 the subject of the security if the debt is not paid as 
specified ; also, in wills, conferring on the executor author- 
ity toconvert property Into money.- Power of the keys 
Sec *<-i/i.- Power to license, sec licente.- Practical 
Power, the powerof doing something; the power conferred 
by a practical science. - Pure power, force which wants 
all form ; the state of first matter. Rational power a 
faculty connected with the reason, as that part ofthe so'ul 
which distinguishes man from the lieasta. Real power 
a power of doing, or suffering, or becoming : opposed to 
tyical pmcrr. Receptive power. Same as tubjectiue 
powsowdy 
-.-.,.. *VW**UAVU i/uwci. -^lUlie us nun00HM 
vmrer. - Resol virlg power. See objective, n. , 3. Rhetor- 
ical power, the power of eloquence. - Rotatory power 
See rotaloni. Sensitive power, the capacity of sensa- 
Jhere to no power but of Cod ; the powers that be are 
ordained of God. Rom. xiil. 1. 
19. That which has power; specifically, an 
army or navy ; a military or naval force ; a host. 
Than com Merlin to Arthur, and bad hym sende for all 
his power in all haste with-oute tarylnge. 
Merlin (K. E. T. S.), HI. <m. 
K. Rich. What says Lord Stanley, will he bring Us ameer f 
Me**. My lord, he doth deny to come 
K. Rich. Off with his son lieorge's head ! 
Shale., Rich. III., v. 8. 344. 
___ _-..,. ^, u 0iviTc iwwWf Mra cHpuciiy 01 geilMa- 
tlon. Signatory power, see riynaton. Sovereign 
power, the supreme power In a state. Subjective pow- 
er, the capability of a subject of receiving contradictory 
predicates, or of lieing determined In different ways usu- 
ally confounded with pamcr p,nrer. The powers, the 
great powers of Europe, in mm/era diplmacy, phrases 
designating the principal nations of Europe. 
20. A token of subjection to power; in the New 
Testament, a covering for the head; a veil. 
For this cause ought the woman to have power [a "sign 
of authority," revised version] on her head because of the 
angels. 1 Cor. xl. 10. 
21. Iii optic*, the degree to which an optical 
instrument, as a telescope or microscope, mag- 
nifies the apparent linear or superficial dimen- """ """ 
sions of an object. See magnify. 22 The P wera wOn (pou-e-ra'shou), n. [< power* + 
eyepiece of a telescope or the objective of a mi- ^''""J-] A great quantity. Baltiirell. [Prov. 
croscope. Absolute power, unlimited power; power 
II III 'I IMt I'l llll-ll Ill-lour A >M, t+inrv nnn . CJ~_ _1 . . 
, 
os o urope. The great 
powers long recognized were Great Britain. France, Aus- 
tria, Prussia, and Russia. Later I'russia was replaced by 
the new German Empire, Italy was recognized, and in 18i7 
Spaln was admitted to the European concert. Transmu- 
tative power, the power of producing a change in an ob- 
ject Treaty-making power. See treaty. Violent 
power, the power of producing violent motion.- Vital 
power, the power of living. Syn. Pmrer, StreityUi, force 
Power and ilrenylh may be active or inactive ; force is ac 
five. Stremjlh is rather an inward capability ; force an 
outward; power may be either: we speak of utremjth of 
character, power of habit, force of will ; strength of tim- 
ber, power of a steam-engine, force of a projectile. 
power'-'t, a. An obsolete form of poor. 
power 3 *, r. An obsolete form ot pour*. 
powerablet (pou'er-a-bl), a. [< power* + -able.] 
Endowed with power; powerful. 
That you may see how pmeerabU time is In altering 
tongs as all things else. Camden, Remains, Languages. 
Bug.] 
-Ac- Power-capstan (pou'er-kap'stan), . See cap. 
. nnn V//f It 
" '-- " *e wii-io i;* v, i/VWOi . f 1 '" CI 111 M l lie AT11- 
mal power. See animal. Animate power, a faculty 
of the soul or mind. - Appetitive power, a faculty of de- 
siring. Apprehensive power, faculty of cognition. 
Artificial power, an art considered as a power Aug- 
mentative power, the powerof growth. Balance of 
power. See balance.- Cavil power. Same as political 
power. Cognoscitlve power. Same as apprehemine 
pinner. Commanding, directing, ami executive pow- 
ers, three faculties of the mind, in the psychology of 
Aquinas, of which the first determines what shall be done, 
the last does it, and the second secures the correspondence 
of the action with the intention. Commensurable In 
power, in math. See commrnmrable. Connate power 
a faculty possessed from birth, not developed by educa- 
tion. Corporeal power, the virtue of an inanimate sub- 
stance or tiling. Creative power, the powerof creating 
Doctrine of enumerated powers, of implied pow- 
ers. See enumerate , impl,,. Emissive, en titative, ex- 
istent power, see the adjectives. Essential pow- 
er, power in an essence to receive actual existence. 
Existential power, power in a thing that actually exists 
to do or become something. Free power, a faculty which 
tbe mind is free to exercise or not Generative power 
the faculty of propagating the kind. Habitual power' 
power resulting from custom. High power See 06- 
jfctitv, n., s. Impassive power, the powerof resisting 
aforce tending to produce a change. Inanimate power 
a power not belonging to tbe soul. Incommensurable 
powered (pou'erd), a. [< poiccr + -<f2.] Hav- 
ing power (of a specified kind or degree) : used 
especially in composition: as, high-powered or 
\ow-poin-red rifles or guns. The measure of a gun's 
power is Its muzzle-velocity, or the velocity with which 
the projectile leaves the muzzle. This in modern guns is 
about 2,000 feet per second, but there is no exact dividing- 
line between guns of high power and those of low power. 
powerful (pou'er-ful), a. [< power + -/?.] 
1. Exerting great force or power; able to pro- 
duce great physical effects; strong; efficient: 
as, a poirerfiil engine ; a powerful blow ; apoir- 
erful medicine. 
The cedar . . . 
Whose top-branch overpeer'd Jove's spreading tree 
And kept low shrubs from winter s potrerful wind. 
Shale., 3 Hen. VI., v. i 15. 
When first that sun too powerful beams displays, 
It draws up vapours which obscure its rays. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 470. 
2. Having great authority; puissant: pot. , it : 
mighty: as, a potrerful nation. 
The Lords of Ross, Beaumond, and Willoiighby 
With all their pmrrrful friends, are fled to him" 
.<fA(7*.,Rich. II., ii. _>. .-.;.. 
He that had seen Pericles lead the Athenians which 
way he listed haply would have said lie hud been their 
prince ; and yet he was but a powerfull and rloqumt man 
in a Democracy. Milton. Prelatical Episcopacy. 
3. Characterized by great intellectual power. 
In his torn, he knew to prize 
Lord Mannlon'spotr/uJ mind, and wise. 
Seotl, Marmloii, Iv. IS. 
4. Having great influence or moral ixiwer- 
cogent; efficacious. 
Uod make* sometimes a plain and simple man's good 
We tu powerful as the most eloquent set n ion. 
/'"/i. . Sermons, v. 
What had I 
To oppose against mch powerful arguments? 
Milton, 8. A., I. 862. 
5. Great; numerous; numerically large. Com- 
pare power*, 10. [Colloq.] 
This piano wan sort o' fiddle like -only bigger and 
with * powerful heap of wire strings. 
Cariton, New Purchase, II. N. (Barttett.) 
= Syn. Puissant, forcible, cogent, Influential; vigorous 
robust, sturdy. 
powerful (pou'er-ful), orfr. [< powerful, a 1 
V ery : as, poirerfiil good ; poirerful weak. [Lo- 
cal, U. S.] 
powerfully (pou'er-ful-i), adr. In a powerful 
manner; with great force or energy; potently 
strongly. 
All which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently 
believe, yet I hold It not honesty to have it thus set down 
5Ao*., Hamlet, li. 2. 203.' 
powerfulness (pou'er-ful-nes), . The charac- 
ter of being powerful; force; power; might; 
potency; efficacy. 
The potrerfulnem of Christ's birth consists In this that 
he Is made of Hod. Donne, Sermon's, HI. 
power-hammer (pou'er-lmm'er), . A ham- 
mer actuated by machinery. 
power-house (pou'er-hous), H. In water-works, 
imd other works in which machinery is driven 
by power from steam, electric, or other prime 
motors, a building especially provided to con- 
tain the prime motor or motors from which 
power is conveyed to the driven machinery liv 
a main shaft and gearing, or by a belt or cable. 
power-lathe (poirer-lasa), . A lathe in which 
the live head-stock mandrel is driven by steam, 
water, or other power, independently of the 
operator. The transmission of power from line .shafting 
and counter-shafts to lathes is usually performed by inil- 
ley-and-belt mechanism, variable speed being secured bv 
cone-pulleys. 
powerless (pou'er-les), a. [< pmcrr + -lex*.] 
Lacking power; weak; impotent; unable to 
produce any effect. 
I give you welcome with a pmm-leia hand, 
Itut with a heart full of unstained love. 
Shale., K. John, ii. 1. IS. 
With no will, 
Powerlem and blind, must he some fate fulfil 
Nor knowing what he Is doing any more 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 403. 
powerlessly (pou'er-les-li), adv. In a power- 
less manner; without [lower; weakly, 
powerlessness (pou'er-les-nes), n. "The state 
or character of being powerless; absence or 
lack of power. 
power-loom (pou'er-lem), n. A loom worked 
by water, steam, or some other mechanical 
power. 
power-machine (pou'er-ma-shen'), . A ma- 
chine actuated by a mechanical force, as dis- 
tinguished from one worked by hand, 
power-press (pou'er-pres), . A printing-press 
.worked by steam, gas, or other mechanical 
gency, as distinguished from a hand-press, 
powitch(pou'ich), . [Chinook Indian.] The 
Oregon crab-apple, I'yriis rirularix, a small tree 
often forming dense thickets, the wood very 
hard, and the fruit eaten by the Indians, 
powke-needlet (pouk'ne'dl), . Same as itowAr- 
ML 
powldront, An obsolete form of paitldron. 
powlert, n. An obsolete form of poller. 
pownaget, . An obsolete form of pannage. 
powney (pou'ni), . A Scotch form of pony. 
powst, powse't. Obsolete forms of pulse*. 
powse'-'t, n. An obsolete form otpulseV. 
powsonedt, a. See poimgon. 
pOWSOningt, 8eeymw//.s-iHf/. 
powsowdy (pou-sou'di), w. [Also poic.micdic ; 
appar.</>tt;i, =;,?/!,+ .-wMoi.] Any mixture 
of incongruous sorts of food. Specifically i a \ 
Sheep's-head broth. (6) Porridge, (c) A Yorkshire pnd- 
ding, (d) A mixed drink. See the quotation ll'roT 
Eng. or Scotch in all uses.] 
The principal charm of the "gathering" [In Westmore- 
landl was not assuredly diminished to the men by the an 
ticipation of excellent ale, ... and possibly of still more 
excellent mnf-towdy (a combination of ale, spirits and 
spices). /VVmWt;, Autobiog. Sketches, II. 109. (Danei ) 
