potency (po|tency)

noun (plural potencies)

• 1the power of something to affect the mind or body: a myth of enormous potency the unexpected potency of the rum punch
• [count noun] (in homeopathy) the number of times a remedy has been diluted and succussed, taken as a measure of the strength of the effect it will produce: she was given a low potency twice daily
• Genetics the extent of the contribution of an allele towards the production of a phenotypic characteristic.
• Biology a capacity in embryonic tissue for developing into a particular specialized tissue or organ.

• 2a male’s ability to achieve an erection or to reach orgasm: the myth of declining sexual potency with increasing age