"P" Word Origins

Paulina

Latin

From Latin Paulina, the feminine form of Paulinus, itself from Paulus ("small").

Pauline

Latin

From French Pauline, from Latin Paulīna, ultimately from Paulus ("small").

Paulson

Norwegian

From the given name Paul plus the patronymic suffix "-son," meaning "son of Paul" — mirrored by Poulsen in Norwegian and Danish, and Pavlovič in Slavic languages.

Pauly

Origin

Formed from Paul with the affectionate "-y" ending used in nicknames.

paunch

Latin

From Old French pance, going back to Latin pantex ("belly") — the same root that gives us "pancreas."

pauper

Latin

A direct borrowing from Latin pauper, meaning "poor" — the same root that gives us "poverty" and "impoverish."

pause

Latin

From Latin pausa, itself from Greek pausis ("stopping"), related to the verb pauein ("to stop").

pave

Vulgar Latin

From Old French paver, tracing back to a Vulgar Latin word meaning "to beat down" or "ram" — describing how early road surfaces were compacted.

paved

Middle English

From Middle English paved, ypavyd, equivalent to pave + -ed.

pavement

Latin

From Latin pavimentum, "a beaten or paved surface," from pavire, "to beat or ram down" — the same root as "pave."

pavilion

Latin

From Latin papilio, "butterfly" — early tents were named for their canvas sides, which spread out like wings.

Pavlov

Russian

From the Russian surname Pávlov, itself derived from the given name Pável (Paul).

Pavlovich

Origin

An anglicized spelling of the Slavic surname Pavlović.

paw

Old French

From Old French poe, of uncertain deeper origin, possibly linked to a Germanic root meaning "to poke" or "put."

pawl

Origin

17th c., perhaps from Low German or Dutch pal (“catch (mechanism)”), or from either French pal (“stake”) or épaule (“shoulder”).

pawn

Old French

From Old French pan ("pledge for payment"), likely from a Germanic word for "deposit" or "security."

pawnbroker

Origin

A straightforward combination of "pawn" and "broker."

pawnee

Origin

The name of the Pawnee Native American nation and their nearly extinct language.

pawnshop

Origin

From "pawn" plus "shop."

pawpaw

Origin

Via Portuguese and Spanish papaya from Lokono papáia; compare also Kari'na kapaja. Doublet of papaya. Alternatively from Yuchi pahpah.

paws

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

pax

Latin

Directly from Latin pax, "peace" — a doublet of the English word "peace" itself.

Paxton

Old English

From an Old English personal name plus "tūn" ("settlement"), meaning roughly "Pæcc's settlement."

pay

Latin

From Old French paiier, ultimately from Latin pacare ("to pacify, satisfy") — the idea being that paying a debt settles or "pacifies" it.

payable

Origin

From "pay" plus the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being paid."

payably

Origin

From payable + -ly.

Payal

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit pāyala.

payback

Origin

A noun formed from the phrasal verb "pay back."

paycheck

Origin

From "pay" plus "check," reflecting the days when wages were commonly paid by paper cheque.

payday

Origin

From "pay" plus "day."

payee

English

From pay plus the suffix -ee, which marks the person on the receiving end of an action, as in employee and addressee.

paying

Origin

From pay + -ing.

payload

Origin · 1900

From "pay" (as in "paying," i.e. revenue-generating) plus "load" — coined in the early twentieth century for the profitable part of a cargo.

paymaster

Origin

From pay + master.

payment

Old French

From Old French paiement, from "pay" plus the suffix "-ment."

payola

Origin

Perhaps a blend of pay + Victrola, equivalent to pay + -ola.

payout

Origin

A noun formed from the phrasal verb "pay out."

PayPal

Origin

A company name blending "pay" and "pal."

payphone

Origin

From "pay" plus "phone."

payroll

Origin

From "pay" plus "roll," referring to the original paper list (or "roll") of employees and their wages.

Payton

Old English

From an English place name combining an Old English personal name with "tūn" ("settlement").

Paz

Latin

Borrowed from Spanish paz, "peace," from Latin pax.

PCA

English

An initialism, expanded differently in different fields.

PD

English

An initialism, standing for different phrases depending on context.

PDA

English

An initialism with two unrelated expansions; the "public display of affection" sense is now much the more common in everyday use.

PDF

English

An initialism of Portable Document Format. The format was created at Adobe in the early 1990s and was published as an open ISO standard, ISO 32000, in 2008.

PDR

English

An initialism with several unrelated expansions.

pe

Hebrew

From the Hebrew letter פֵּא (pê), tracing back to a Proto-Semitic word for "mouth" — the same root gave us the letter "pi".