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"

Power
In this study, Dr. Ruth looks at the ways that power has led to some questionable historic couplings and draws conclusions about the role power plays in sex with examples of harems, trophy wives, and public and biblical figures.

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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.