The more I review the following at the examples of the dictionaries, The more I become confused. am wondering if the following are interchangeable or synonym. Staying power Stamina
Interchangeable or synonym? Staying power is a definition of stamina, and also a synonym. They are interchangeable in general use, but stamina is the medical word. A sports scientist would talk about stamina rather than staying power. The etymology of stamina is from stamen, the upright thread in a loom. The threads around which the looping threads are woven.
"Stamina" has a more specific meaning. It almost always refers to the physical or mental ability to continue doing something that becomes increasingly difficult as you get tired. "Staying power" is more general. It can refer to a corporation, a machine, a political institution, a church, etc. That was the original Latin meaning of stamen. Today it is most often used by botanists. It is the male reproductive organ in a flower: the stalk that generates pollen. The female organ that collects pollen is the pistil.
