could

Meanings

Verb

• Past of can

Noun

• Something that could happen, or could be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.

Origin

• From Middle English coude, couthe, cuthe, from Old English cūþe, past indicative and past subjunctive form of cunnan (compare related cūþ, whence English couth). The 'l' was added in the early 16th century by analogy with should and would; this was probably helped by the tendency for 'l' to be lost in those words (and so not written, leading to shudd, wode, etc).