- impotent
- late 14c., "physically weak," from O.Fr. impotent "powerless," from L. imponentem (nom. impotens) "lacking control, powerless," from in- "not" + ponentem (nom. potens) "potent." Meaning "having no power to accomplish anything" is from mid-15c.; that of "completely lacking in sexual power" is from 1590s (implied in impotency).