potentiella

Potentiella is a Swedish adjective meaning "potential" or "possible" when describing plural nouns. The base form in singular is potentiell (common gender) or potentiellt (neuter), while the plural form before plural nouns is potentiella. For example: potentiella kunder (potential customers) or potentiella risker (potential risks). The term is neutral and widely used across different contexts.

Etymology and relatives: Potentiella derives from the word stem potent-, which in turn traces back to Latin potens or potentia, through various European language pathways such as French potentiel and English potential. In Swedish, the adjective poten­tiell dates from the modern era’s expanding technical and business vocabulary, aligning with similar formations in many Indo-European languages.

Usage and meaning: Potentiella is used to describe things that could occur under certain conditions but are not guaranteed to happen. It is common in business, policy, science, and planning to identify possibilities without asserting certainty. Distinctions are often made with related terms such as faktiska (actual) or sannolika (likely), where potentiella signals a conditionally realizable outcome. The word can modify phenomena, groups, or outcomes, for example: potentiella effekter, potentiella risker, potentiella kunder. In many contexts, it serves to frame analyses, forecasts, or target audiences without committing to final results.

See also: potential as a concept in various languages; potentiell as the singular adjective form in Swedish; discussions of related terms such as potential, potens, and probabilistic projections.