1. [n]  physical strength
2. [n]  possession of controlling influence; "the deterrent power of nuclear weapons"; "the power of his love saved her"
3. [n]  possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done; "danger heightened his powers of discrimination"
4. [n]  a mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself
5. [n]  a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world
6. [n]  a very wealthy or powerful businessman; "an oil baron"
7. [n]  one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority; "the mysterious presence of an evil power"; "may the force be with you"; "the forces of evil"
8. [n]  (physics) the rate of doing work; measured in watts (= joules/second)
9. [n]  (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power; "being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage"; "during his first year in power"
10. [v]  supply the force or power for the functioning of; "The gasoline powers the engines"

1. \Pow"er\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
   Same as {Poor}, the fish.
   
   

2. \Pow"er\, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F.
   pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to
   be able, to have power. See {Possible}, {Potent}, and cf.
   {Posse comitatus}.]
   1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the
      faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for
      action or performance; capability of producing an effect,
      whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of
      great power; the power of capillary attraction; money
      gives power. ``One next himself in power, and next in
      crime.'' --Milton.
   
   2. Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength,
      force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in
      moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in
      producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. ``The power
      of fancy.'' --Shak.
   
   3. Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted
      upon; susceptibility; -- called also {passive power}; as,
      great power of endurance.
   
            Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is
            active power or capacity; capacity is passive power.
                                                  --Sir W.
                                                  Hamilton.
   
   4. The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the
      exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion;
      sway; command; government.
   
            Power is no blessing in itself but when it is
            employed to protect the innocent.     --Swift.
   
   5. The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual
      invested with authority; an institution, or government,
      which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe;
      hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity.
      ``The powers of darkness.'' --Milton.
   
            And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
                                                  --Matt. xxiv.
                                                  29.
   
   6. A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host.
      --Spenser.
   
            Never such a power . . . Was levied in the body of a
            land.                                 --Shak.
   
   
   
   7. A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o? good
      things. [Colloq.] --Richardson.
   
   8. (Mech.)
      (a) The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or
          mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other
          machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an
          engine of twenty horse power.
   
   Note: The English unit of power used most commonly is the
         horse power. See {Horse power}.
      (b) A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical
          energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand
          power, etc.
      (c) Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as,
          the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a
          weight at the other end.
   
   Note: This use in mechanics, of power as a synonym for force,
         is improper and is becoming obsolete.
      (d) A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a
          motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.
   
   Note: Power is used adjectively, denoting, driven, or adapted
         to be driven, by machinery, and not actuated directly
         by the hand or foot; as, a power lathe; a power loom; a
         power press.
   
   9. (Math.) The product arising from the multiplication of a
      number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and
      a cube is third power, of a number.
   
   10. (Metaph.) Mental or moral ability to act; one of the
       faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as,
       the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing,
       fearing, hoping, etc. --I. Watts.
   
             The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of
             my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a
             received belief.                     --Shak.
   
   11. (Optics) The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any
       optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and
       usually in the microscope, the number of times it
       multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an
       object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it
       multiplies the apparent surface.
   
   12. (Law) An authority enabling a person to dispose of an
       interest vested either in himself or in another person;
       ownership by appointment. --Wharton.
   
   13. Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the
       business was referred to a committee with power.
   
   Note: Power may be predicated of inanimate agents, like the
         winds and waves, electricity and magnetism,
         gravitation, etc., or of animal and intelligent beings;
         and when predicated of these beings, it may indicate
         physical, mental, or moral ability or capacity.
   
   {Mechanical powers}. See under {Mechanical}.
   
   {Power loom}, or {Power press}. See Def. 8
       (d), note.
   
   {Power of attorney}. See under {Attorney}.
   
   {Power of a point} (relative to a given curve) (Geom.), the
      result of substituting the co["o]rdinates of any point in
      that expression which being put equal to zero forms the
      equation of the curve; as, x^{2} + y^{2} - 100 is the
      power of the point x, y, relative to the circle x^{2} +
      y^{2} - 100 = 0.
   
   

Performance Optimization with Enhanced RISC. The ibm processor architecture on which powerpc was based.