erectile-dysfunctionAre they synonyms or maybe ED is only one type of impotence?
The word impotence has multiple meanings, one of which is synonymous with erectile dysfunction. If you’re speaking about a topic clearly of a sexual nature, either term is appropriate. If the topic is of a non-sexual nature, impotence may not mean erectile dysfunction. Consider the following:
John was used to being in control, but in this situation, his impotence was plain to see. (Ineffective or powerless against the situation.)
Versus…
John couldn’t make love to his wife anymore, so he visited his doctor to address his impotence. (Unable to maintain an erection because of medical or psychological causes.)
Impotence usually refers to erectile dysfunction in the medical field, and usually doesn’t when talking about politics, religion, or in most literary works.
Interesting. When I started writing this answer, it had been my understanding that impotence referred to an inability for a man to get his female partner pregnant, due to any number of conditions. I thought it was independent of ED, except for that ED is one form of impotence.
However, the Wikipedia article about Erectile Dysfunction suggests that "impotence" is a synonym. In fact, apparently "impotence" derives from the Latin phrase impotentia coeundi, which refers specifically from an inability to insert the penis into the vagina. So, that sounds pretty specifically like ED.
So it would seem that, in a sexual context, impotence and erectile dysfunction refer to the same phenomenon. That being said, I don't think I was the only person to associate the word "impotence" with general male sterility or infertility, so in colloquial contexts that may be a common secondary meaning of the term.
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