potentes

Potentes is a term used in Spanish and Portuguese as the plural form of the adjective potente, meaning powerful or strong. It is employed to describe people, objects, or phenomena that exhibit considerable power, effectiveness, or capacity. In everyday language, potentes can modify nouns directly (motores potentes, una fuerza potente) or function as a predicate adjective (son potentes). When referring to groups, the article varies by gender: los potentes (masculine) or las potentes (feminine).

Etymology and grammar: Potente comes from the Latin potens, potent- meaning capable or powerful, with the Romance-language suffix -nte forming adjectives. The plural form in both Spanish and Portuguese is potentes, and it remains the same for masculine and feminine plural, with gender shown only through the accompanying article or pronoun.

Usage: The word is common in technical and general contexts. In technical language, potentes describes high-performance devices, engines, or systems (motores potentes; energia potente). In social or political discourse, it can appear in phrases like “los potentes” to refer to powerful actors or institutions, often with connotations of influence or authority. While potent and its derivatives are widespread, potentes is primarily a descriptive term rather than a fixed proper noun.

See also: potente, potencia, potência. The term is closely related to related adjectives in both languages and shares cognates with other Romance languages, such as Italian potente and French puissant.