Posse

​Have you heard the term ‘posse’ used to refer to a gang or group of people that hang around with someone famous?
 
The origins of the word posse are related to Latin potis (powerful, able, capable, possible) and potere (to be powerful); words which are the source of the word potent.
 
The English word posse is from Latin posse (to have power, to be able). The Latin term posse comitatus refers to a body of men who represent the force of a county; i.e., posse + comitatus (of the county). In English law, a local sheriff is empowered to call a posse comitatus into service for support in the execution of the law, in cases of rescue or riot, or in other similar circumstances to preserve the public peace.
 
The word posse, a shortening of posse comitatus, came to English in the 1640s with the general sense of an irregular or temporary armed force.
 
Posse, meaning a small gang, is “probably from Western movies popularized by Hollywood in the mid-20th century” (Online Etymological Dictionary).
 
Merriam-Webster states, “Preserving the public peace so often meant hunting down a supposed criminal that posse eventually came to mean any group organized to make a search or embark on a mission.” In addition, Merriam-Webster states, “In even broader use, posse can refer to any group. [For example…] Sometimes nowadays such a group is a gang or a rock band but it can as easily be any group—politicians, models, architects, tourists, children, or what have you—acting in concert” (Merriam-Webster).
 
Image: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3212447/Ruby-Rose-joins-Taylor-Swift-s-celebrity-posse-pair-hang-Los-Angeles-not-long-Ruby-revealed-interview-wanted-best-friend.html
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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