puissance

UK/ˈpjuːɪ.s(ə)ns/

nounC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechleans written

Puissance is great power or influence, in old use. A man of puissance.

It is archaic in English and survives mostly in poetry and in show jumping. In show jumping the puissance is the event over the highest wall.

Definitions of puissance

1nounpuissanceGreat power or influence, in old use.C2
“The puissance of that family lasted three generations.”

puissance is a power.

Old French puissance comes from puissant, powerful, from Latin posse, to be able.

From Middle English puissaunce, from Anglo-Norman puissance, pusaunce, and other forms, from Old French puissant (“powerful”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA